The local chapter of the Canadian Mental Health Association will spearhead community clean-up efforts in the Uptown and Lower Third Avenue areas, after the city agreed to provide $50,000 in start-up funds.
Mayor Sharie Minions said one of the focuses will be returning shopping carts back to the stores they were stolen from.
“Shopping carts are something we’ve heard a lot of concern over, so this gives us an opportunity to have someone proactively picking them up and taking them back to where they belong,” she said. “We think overall it’s a really positive program, and our intent is to give start-up funds but not ongoing operating funds going forward. They expect to be self-sufficient by working with private industry and other community groups.”
She said CMHA workers will be trained to safely pick up needles and assist in cleaning up after homeless camps have been removed.
