File photo of downtown Lethbridge (Lethbridge News Now)

By Justin Goulet

Downtown Lethbridge BRZ’s Clean Sweep Program expanded

Apr 20, 2021 | 11:15 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The Clean Sweep Program (CSP) in Lethbridge is getting expanded.

The program is a joint initiative between the City of Lethbridge and Downtown Lethbridge Business Revitalization Zone (BRZ).

It gives individuals experiencing homelessness the chance to work to clean up the downtown, taking on tasks such as sweeping sidewalks, shoveling snow, cleaning up garbage and needles and clearing alleyways of debris and weeds Mondays through Fridays.

In the past, the CSP would offer a maximum of five people the opportunity to take part. As part of the expansion, two full-time foremen are being added to the program, increasing the number of daily stipend workers and operating an additional two days per week.

Each foremen will now mentor and lead a team of up to five people – doubling the number of daily stipend workers taking part in the CSP.

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It will also expand to operate seven days a week instead of five and will service select hotspot locations beyond the downtown.

The city’s Urban Revitalization Manager, Andrew Malcolm said, “since the adoption of the Heart of Our City Master Plan in 2007, creating a clean and safe downtown has been a fundamental goal of downtown revitalization and the Clean Sweep Program has been a cornerstone of those efforts.”

“These program changes are important to ensure that City-funded programs are adapting with current realities to be able to effectively deliver a valuable service to the community in alignment with some of our broader community strategies including the Community Wellbeing & Safety Strategy (CWSS) and Downtown Clean and Safe Strategy (DCSS).”

The CSP’s annual budget of $225,000 is funded by the City of Lethbridge. The Downtown BRZ took on the role of program administrator in 2007.

Executive Director of the BRZ, Tulene Steiestol said, “it has been an extremely difficult year for many and we are thrilled to share the great news of the program’s expansion with the downtown businesses that make up the Downtown BRZ and also with the Lethbridge community at large.”

“The Clean Sweep Program has been and will remain a service the BRZ is proud to lead and provide to our community.”

The City noted that the expansion to the program has effectively doubled the amount of hours of cleanup without additional funding being provided by the City of Lethbridge, via a combination of implementing program efficiencies and by integrating aspects of the CSP with the needle collection program, which is funded separately by the provincial government.

The new CSP foremen have always started their roles and are reporting to CSP Manager Melissa Johnson. Weekend service of the Clean Sweep Program will start on May 1, 2021.