SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — An Outreach Program in Onondaga County offers hands up not handouts.
Folks from the Hire Ground Project were out on Erie Boulevard this morning beautifying the neighborhood. Participants pick up trash in the Onondaga County four days a week. The project is a branch of the In My Father’s Kitchen Organization. Founder and former restaurant owner, John Tumino said the program began after he made a gesture to help a homeless man.
“I had an encounter with a gentleman holding a cardboard sign on an off ramp…I went and got him lunch…and told him he wasn’t invisible,” Tumino said. “He started to tell me his whole life story…and I forgot that I was on an off ramp…It was like a surreal moment.”
Tumino said the encounter changed the trajectory of his life. He and his wife Leigh-Ann decided to take a leap of faith and launch the Hire Ground Project out of their home. “We turned over our restaurant to our family,” Tumio said. “With our little car and me as a chef using my talent to cook to bring food out to the streets.”
The two partnered with Onondaga County and created this project for the homeless as an alternative to panhandling. Providing participants with breakfast and lunch, Tumino said it’s a safe space that allows members to escape from their environment. “You work for five hours, you get paid cash at the end of the day…we have a care manager…to help you figure out what can we do to help you not panhandle or help you with whatever you need,” Tumino said.
The crew picked up over a quarter million gallons of garbage last year. The In My Father’s Kitchen organization has connected dozens of people from the program to real official employment and public assistance. It continues to grow and provide resources for the homeless.
