Better Way Anaheim
Better Way Anaheim, an innovative program offering voluntary community service projects for those who are homeless will provide basic work experience as well as access to additional services to help end homelessness. Better Way Anaheim has served 765 homeless individuals since December of 2017.
Love Anaheim is working with Long Beach-based City Net, Anaheim's partner on homeless outreach, and others that are part of the Anaheim Homeless Collaborative, a collection of more than 100 groups working collectively to address homelessness. The groups will help identify potential candidates who would benefit from community service as a way of developing basic work experience.
Love Anaheim will conduct weekly community service outings of up to five hours each for the first two months and could expand to twice weekly outings after that.
Participants will work to clean up parks, paint trash cans or fire hydrants and work on other community projects. Those taking part in Better Way Anaheim will work as volunteers and be provided food and gift cards with a value of $60 for each day of service. They'll also have access to the Anaheim Homeless Collaborative with referrals to housing, healthcare, social services benefits, employment and other services designed to end homelessness. Participants could come from locations including the Bridges at Kraemer Place shelter in Anaheim and City Net's service center on the Santa Ana River Trail.
The City of Anaheim gifted to Love Anaheim a surplus Dodge Caravan, formerly used by Anaheim Public Utilities, with an estimated value of $1,300 to $1,500. The van, now wrapped in the Better Way Anaheim and Love Anaheim logos, will be used by a driver and helper to take up to five participants on community service outings. Please see ANAHEIM HOMELESS for more info on what the City of Anaheim is doing to adress homelessness.
