The Solutions

We have presented a set of 26 ideas to Pitt and UPMC to help resolve these problems of trash and litter in our residential community. The keystone solution to the litter problem is daily maintenance. We have also proposed to Pitt and UPMC the creation of a program designed to assure continual custodial maintenance of our streets and to provide young Pittsburghers with gainful employment. This program is called: THE SOUL (South Oakland Urban Litter) PROGRAM. We requested support for this program and were told by university officials: “We have no money.” UPMC also denied our request for seed money for this program. We believe firmly that this is a program in which everyone has something to gain.

Here is a brief summary of THE SOUL PROGRAM:

The SOUL (South Oakland Urban Litter) program is one that will employ 10 youth workers to assist in the effort to keep the sidewalks and streets of Oakland free of litter. These workers will be employed Monday through Friday, for four hours per day. The salary for each worker would be $10 per hour. For some of these young people, this will be their first employment opportunity; and for all of them, the program will help them develop the social, ethical and personal skills necessary for increasing their opportunities for success in life. There will be approximately 35 streets in Oakland serviced by this program.

The employees will work under the direction of YouthPlaces, a non-profit organization located at 2934 Smallman Street. Pittsburgh, PA 15201. YouthPlaces will work in collaboration with Oakland organizations. The Executive Director is Lori Schaller.

The mission of The SOUL Program is to create and promote a clean environment in Oakland, while providing its youth workers with an opportunity to be involved in meaningful employment. The program benefits the residents and the landlords of Oakland, as well as businesses and institutions such as UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh. It also provides a positive visual enhancement of the neighborhood for the thousands of people who visit and travel through Oakland every year.

The SOUL Program complements the efforts of other organizations engaged in the attempt to eliminate the trash and litter problems in Oakland, organizations such as the Oakland Planning and Development Corporation, Oakland Community Council, Community Human Services, Peoples Oakland, Oakland Transportation Management Association and the Oakland Business Improvement District.

We are asking for a 10-year, $1.2 million commitment of $120,000 per year by Pitt and UPMC for The SOUL Program. This amount will allow YouthPlaces to hire ten youths at a combined salary of $100,000 per year. The additional amount of $20,000 would go towards beautification projects and other environmental causes in Oakland which our residents, student supporters and community organizations would agree to implement.

The amount of funding requested is equivalent to only $4 (Four dollars) per year of a student’s tuition fee which ranges from $13,344 to $47,346.

The trash problem in our community can be resolved through strict enforcement of the trash laws of the city of Pittsburgh. The university can provide tremendous assistance to the city because administrators of the university know the addresses of where their students live, and can easily contact students to inform them that this kind of egregious behavior will not be tolerated.

The long-term solution to the numerous problems facing our residential community and to the building of a new future by our community demands a long-term financial commitment by Pitt and UPMC to our community. UPMC also denied our request for $30,000 for seed money for this program. And the commitment by UPMC has been sporadic. As you will see later, very little of the billions of dollars in revenue of these two institutions trickles down to our community.