San Diego offers jobs to homeless people to ease problem

SAN DIEGO – Homeless people in San Diego are being offered jobs to pick up trash, pull weeds and clear brush as the city wrestles with one of the worst homeless problems in the country.

Mayor Kevin Faulconer said the effort that started Monday will restore people’s dignity by paying them $11.50 an hour. A dozen U.S. cities have similar programs.

The “Wheels of Change” program in San Diego is funded for six months by a private donor and run by Alpha Project, a homeless services provider.

Alpha Project will drive people two days a week to designated sites to work for five hours. The program will help people manage their finances and find permanent housing.

San Diego has an acute affordable housing shortage and has opened giant tents to house the homeless.