On Tuesday, Sept. 14, the Newport Beach City Council approved a grant agreement with Trellis International, a Costa Mesa-based non-profit organization, for a pilot program that provides volunteer opportunities for individuals experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity to learn and/or rebuild job skills and a path toward stable employment and housing.
Under the agreement, the City will award a $30,000 grant to Trellis to provide four-person volunteer teams to undertake at least eight various work projects a month within Newport Beach over a one-year term.
Through volunteer projects managed by Trellis’ Community Impact Team, participants develop and refine job skills needed to reenter the job market and remain employed. The projects may include cleanup of beaches, hiking trails, parking lots, piers and other public areas, graffiti removal, vegetation trimming and removal, and more.
The Trellis partnership complements other City efforts to reduce homelessness and increase cleanup and maintenance of public areas.
The City is developing an expanded volunteer program to better align community volunteer groups with resources and specific cleanup and beautification needs throughout Newport Beach.
With dedicated staff and a multi-departmental Rapid Response Team, the City continues to take a proactive approach to all aspects of addressing homelessness, from initial interactions with individuals on the street, to helping place individuals in local shelters and connecting them to appropriate county, state and federal resources and services.
Through the Trellis partnership, the City will augment those efforts by providing opportunities to regain skills and confidence with a goal of assisting individuals to re-enter the employment ranks and obtain permanent, stable housing.
