The Path to Responsibility Can Start With a Broom and a Paycheck

Wall Street Journal ^ | February 28, 2014 | ROBERT DOAR

[reaganaut1]

...

Those on the My Brother's Keeper team searching for answers about how to help the most "at risk" young minority men would do well to stop by the Doe Fund in New York City, where, for more than 25 years, the organization run by George and Harriet McDonald has helped homeless men. The program they run is based on a clear contract between the shelter managers and the homeless men. "You get up every day and go to work and stay drug free—and we will pay you and house you and feed you. It's as simple as that," Mr. McDonald said at his shelter on 155th street in Harlem. Doe Fund facilities are funded by revenue generation from their maintenance and cleaning business, government funding for homeless services, and private donations. The breakdown is roughly one-third each.

Anyone who enters one of the four Doe Fund facilities in New York City is handed a paper entitled: "Some of the Rules that You Will hear ALL the time." Among the regulations are Rule No. 4: No standing or loitering in front of the building at any time of the day. Rule No. 10: You must not drink or drug while you are in the program. Rule No. 11: No cellular phones are allowed while you are working.

In return for a roof over their heads and a salary, residents of the Doe Fund shelters clean and maintain commercial strips all over New York City—real jobs, with real demands and shifts that start at 6 a.m. The Doe Fund crews add an extra touch not provided by the sanitation and park employees of New York City, and every day workers face real customers who include not only local business groups who pay for their services but also residents and pedestrians

[reaganaut1]

Liberals send the message that everyone is entitled to a college education and a high-paid white collar job, so this program may not appeal to them.

[Red Badger]

Young people today are enamored with music and sports stars that make millions, as well as local drug dealer thugs that drive BMWs and Mercedes. They think that all they have to do is sing, rap, shoot some hoops, throw a ball or sell some stash and they’ll be millionaires, too.

Ashton Kutcher said it best: I believe that opportunity looks a lot like hard work...............

[Vigilanteman]

Sounds like a good article. Anyway we can read the whole thing without paying?

[livius]

The Doe Fund has done a tremendous job in NYC.

[GOPJ]

LOL - yep - and it also won’t appeal to liberals because they WANT the dependent class dependent.

[Albion Wilde]

Sounds like a good article. Anyway we can read the whole thing without paying?

Whenever this happens, google the title and see what you come up with. Here is a link that I came up with:

http://www.aei.org/article/society-and-culture/poverty/the-path-to-responsibility-can-start-with-a-broom-and-a-paycheck

[zeestephen]

RE: “The Path to Responsibility Can Start With a Broom”

Yeah, so you can dust off the robot that just took your job.

[Vigilanteman]

Thanks for the splendid hint and a gateway to a great article.

Confession: I once took a short course on how to use various search engines for industrial espionage. I should have thought of that course here.

[Albion Wilde]

Most welcome.

[Mamzelle]

Mayor Wilhelm will stop this, and put everyone in jail!