Clean Downtown gets a tidy sum for program

"I FEEL LIKE I'VE BEEN GIVEN A SECOND CHANCE ... I DON'T KNOW WHERE I MIGHT HAVE ENDED UP."

MARC SANDOVAL, a crew leader on track to being promoted to supervisor

Marc Sandoval of Detroit, who works for Clean Downtown, sweeps up at Cass and Henry in Detroit. Sandoval was hired to work in the program by Goodwill Industries in 2007 after he was released from prison.
Photo credit: Rashaun Rucker

Detroit Free Press -- July 18, 2009
By Joe Rossiter

Marc Sandoval and the Clean Downtown program both needed a boost.

In May 2007, Sandoval was released from an Upper Peninsula prison after serving a 9-year sentence for an assault charge. Without a job and few prospects of finding one, his path toward starting life anew appeared bleak.

But within two months of his release, Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit offered Sandoval a job with Clean Downtown, a uniformed workforce that picks up trash, powerwashes sidewalks and maintains landscaping in Detroit. Goodwill hires, trains and supervises employees for the program, which is funded by the Downtown Detroit Partnership of public and private agencies.

"I feel like I've been given a second chance," said Sandavol, 46, who is now a crew leader and on track to being promoted to supervisor. "I'm actually doing some good for the city and loving every minute. ... I don't know where I might have ended up."

Up until last month, Downtown Detroit Partnership officials were likewise concerned about what might happen to the Clean Downtown program, which helps keep the downtown bright. The tough economy and its impact on the auto industry has resulted in diminishing corporate donations.

But the Michigan State Housing Development Authority awarded a $1.69-million grant to the DDP that will, in part, help Clean Downtown continue.

The grant, which DDP plans to match with private sector funds, couldn't have been timelier, according to Ann Lang, DDP president and chief executive officer.

"We're encouraged because the grant allows us to keep going without interruption which we couldn't have done otherwise," Lang said. "Besides allowing the workers to remain employed, it also keeps downtown looking great." Lang said the grant money is "a well-deserved recognition" of the value of the program "and the impact it has had on the lives of individuals, like Marc, who have transformed their lives."

Contact JOE ROSSITER: 313-222-6594 or jrossiter@freepress.com

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