400,000 gallons of litter removed from downtown Hayward by Downtown Streets Team

The Downtown Streets Team, a team of local volunteers, has removed more than 392,000 gallons of litter from the streets of Hayward since the program first began serving the City in 2016. The program, which  employs the services of community members who are (or are at risk of becoming) unhoused, has assisted 28 Hayward Team members in securing housing, and empowered 29 to gain permanent employment.

The Downtown Streets Team program is a volunteer work-experience program that partners with cities throughout the greater Bay Area to provide unhoused residents with volunteer opportunities to serve the community in exchange for stipends for housing assistance, food assistance, transportation assistance, as well as job skills development and employment placement. Other cities served by the Downtown Streets Team program include Palo Alto, Redwood City, Sunnyvale, San Rafael and San Jose, among others.

The Hayward Downtown Streets Team collects litter from downtown Hayward most weekdays. The Team recently expanded its operations to include areas along Tennyson Road and, prior to the pandemic, also helped attendees sort waste at City events such as the Downtown Street Parties hosted every summer. Their efforts helped increase the accuracy of waste sorting at these community events, and helped educate attendees regarding proper recycling practices.

For more information about the Hayward Downtown Streets Team, visit https://streetsteam.org/hayward.