Ready Willing & Able

Ready Willing and Able, Inc. (rwa), the doe fund's flagship program, is the largest paid work and job training program for homeless individuals in the country. Incorporated in 1990, it is a transitional residential work-training program designed to prepare participants - also referred to as "trainees" - to enter and succeed in the socio-economic mainstream. It offers formerly homeless individuals safe and comfortable housing, paid employment and supportive services to help them stay drug and alcohol-free and rebuild their lives. It holistically addresses the many complicated and interrelated causes and results of homelessness through an extended and comprehensive program that includes intensive case management; substance abuse and relapse prevention services; vocational and educational programming; life skills and job preparation training; employment placement services; and life-long aftercare. Rwa is an innovative solution to homelessness and has become a new york institution over the past 15 years. The core values of rwa are paid work, personal responsibility, and service to the greater community. At the heart of the program is the community improvement project (cip), in which trainees clean over 150 miles of streets and sidewalks every day. The men in cip work 35 hours a week and earn above minimum wage to sweep the streets, bag refuse, remove graffiti, shovel snow, and water trees and plants. They also volunteer to clean pocket parks and vacant lots. Through cip, trainees improve the quality of life for all new yorkers while challenging the all-too-common perception of homeless individuals as lazy or incapable of working. Furthermore, cip instills in trainees the important and transferable "soft skills" of employment-punctuality, reliability, diligence, teamwork, and customer service-while they gain work experience and the self-esteem that comes with earning a paycheck. To graduate from Ready, Willing & Able, trainees must remain drug and alcohol-free and obtain and sustain permanent full-time jobs and independent housing.