Rare is the city or village where some are not unhoused, homeless, or living on the margin.
In San Francisco we saw something transformative, and it is on the way to Los Angeles. All cities should take note.
The gentlemen in the vest is part of something making a difference, Urban Alchemy
Founder Dr. Lena Miller calls it a workforce development program that is a transforming force as a social enterprise.
Men and women wearing the Urban Alchemy colors are visible in several neighborhoods.
In three years Miller's "troops" have turned around once troubled neighborhoods through attention to detail and a full on presence.
When an area begins to look like the frame above, beset with crime, filth, drug dealers and or homelessness, Urban Alchemy takes it on.
Miller says it where a job meets the homeless, mental illness, addiction, merchants, residents and tourists.
Urban Alchemy teams tend to the needs of the unhoused, do CPR, rescue drug overdoses, and assist those with mental crises.
Other teams hit the alleys and streets, cleaning up, getting rid of needles, trash, human waste.
They've developed and care for public toilets and rest stations.
They have created safe zones, safe walking areas and even parks.
As one of the urban alchemists told me they are "here for everyone, just making it good for everyone."
They try, as they say, "to hold the space" so it is safe and clean. They are guardians, clean up crews, ambassadors.
Urban Alchemy hires long time offenders, released on completion of sentences. Millar says they are people "with barriers to employment."
They are men and women with street smarts who are given a job and income with the ability to earn an honest living and provide for themselves and families. She says she has seen many success stories in people who might have ended up homeless too. Her staff has a special relationship with the homeless.
"They feel a special bond. They know what it means to be dismissed and disrespected."
The Urban Alchemists evince a pride in the work they do. As they transform neighborhoods, bringing civility, caring, cleanliness, Miller says they too are transformed. She says there is a sense of mission and a kind of spirituality in this mix.
As unhoused people try to survive in cities, living rough, it creates challenges and changes in the chemistry of urban life and commerce. Urban Alchemy has a balm for that.
See you down the trail.
