Page last updated on December 27, 2022 at 3:16 pm
Each week, Mayor Hamilton and Deputy Mayor Griffin provide video updates on recent news and key initiatives. Access all of the weekly video updates at bloomington.in.gov/videoupdates.
In this week's video update, Mayor John Hamilton and Parks and Recreation Director Paula McDevitt discuss the City's employment placement partnership with Centerstone.
First piloted in 2017, the partnership focused on the downtown area, including Seminary Park, Peoples Park, Building Trades Park, and Rev. Ernest D. Butler Park. The partnership now covers four main areas: park maintenance, Switchyard Park, landscaping, and Cascades Golf Course.
The program has been highly successful, and more than 70 Centerstone clients have participated since its beginning. Four past participants have since become City of Bloomington employees in the Parks department. Every participant earns a living wage and training and is provided the necessary tools to be successful.
Tune in next week when Mayor Hamilton and Department of Public Works Director Adam Wason discuss a similar partnership with Centerstone and the Brighten B-town initiative.
If you have questions about the Parks and Recreation partnership with Centerstone, contact Paula McDevitt at mcdevitp@bloomington.in.gov.
Learn more about Centerstone at centerstone.org.
Transcript
Mayor John Hamilton:
Hi, I'm Mayor John Hamilton here in Bloomington, Indiana. Thanks for being with us again. And today, we're with Paula McDevitt, the Director of our award-winning Parks and Recreation Department. Thank you, Paula, for being here.
Paula McDevitt:
Happy to be here.
Mayor John Hamilton:
We are talking about partnerships generally, but more specifically about a partnership that you've been doing for several years with Centerstone, and it's a really exciting and powerful thing. So maybe you can tell us why you do partnerships, and then we'll get into this one with Centerstone.
Paula McDevitt:
Absolutely. Well, the Parks and Recreation Department has been doing formal partnerships for a couple of decades now. They're really useful because it gives us the opportunity to come to the table with a potential community partner, to put the resources that we have available on the table, and what the community partner has as resources. And then the community benefits because nine times out of 10, we come out with a partnership agreement that is either a program or, in this case, a service and employment program.
Mayor John Hamilton:
Like schools you partner with and businesses and all that. But this one was with Centerstone, a mental health provider.
Paula McDevitt:
Absolutely. The very first partnership with Centerstone, a mental health provider, is working with a population that often has many life challenges. Seeing that they had challenges and we had some needs that we needed met was really the perfect combination to start the conversation seven years ago.
Mayor John Hamilton:
Seven years ago. They provide mental health services. So we have people in our community dealing with mental health issues. As you said, we often see that pressure downtown or in other places. So what did you do? What does the partnership do?
Paula McDevitt:
Well, it's a very exciting partnership that I actually found out about from Boulder, Colorado, that piloted this. I was at a conference, and the idea and the wheels started turning. So, upon my return, I pulled together our community partners, and Centerstone was one of the first groups that I called. In the Parks Department at that time and today, we have a lot of outside work.
In 2016, we were being challenged with some of our downtown parks and along Kirkwood with just basic maintenance and upkeep. So that was our issue. Centerstone runs a very successful employment program. They work with clients, teach them basic job skills, and interviewing skills. And we essentially had the jobs and the opportunity and the equipment and the locations, and they had the clients that were looking for work.
Mayor John Hamilton:
I remember we talked about this, Paula, and we're going to talk in a moment about how it started and how big it got. Some of these people we're working with and employing now, we've seen them on the street experiencing mental illness and living downtown or in different ways. So it was really working with our community to help get them jobs. So we've hired people, and they do outside work, helping what? Clean up parks?
Paula McDevitt:
Well, when we first started, we started very small in a pilot. And one of the key components to it because in parks, we're really good about knowing how to maintain parks and trails, but as far as working with people who are struggling with real-life problems or overcoming addiction, that's not our area of expertise. So that was a real key part of the conversation right from the very beginning with Centerstone. So the pilot project started with one crew in park maintenance.
Mayor John Hamilton:
How big is a crew?
Paula McDevitt:
Between four and five people.
Mayor John Hamilton:
Okay. All right.
Paula McDevitt:
But the key component is that Centerstone also partners by providing a supervisor for that crew.
Mayor John Hamilton:
That came with it.
Paula McDevitt:
That came with it. So that when the crew arrived on location at one of our parks, our staff were there with the tools necessary to do the job, little basic job training, and what it involved. The Centerstone supervisor worked right along with the crew members and did the work as well. They were there to manage any challenges that came up. If somebody couldn't make it to work or life happened, it was in the hands of the professionals, and that's the Centerstone crew.
Mayor John Hamilton:
So how'd it worked? How's it working? Has it helped us, and has it helped them?
Paula McDevitt:
Well, the very first time I went out and visited a crew on Sunday afternoon in Peoples Park, they were just so happy to be there and to be contributing and feeling valued; that was something that didn't find its way into the wording in our partnership agreement. So that was that side benefit. So after that summer, of course, we're a big parks department, and we have a lot of needs, so the program has grown over the past couple of years. We now have a landscaping crew that works all over the city and in our parks.
Mayor John Hamilton:
Beautifully.
Paula McDevitt:
Thank you. We have a crew that works out at the golf course. So again, obviously a lot of use out there. We also have a crew that we started in 2020 at Switchyard Park, and they help us during the peak summer months as park attendants. They monitor the restrooms. They keep them clean for our visitors. And sometimes they've been, maybe, the first person on-site if somebody is in need or has an accident, and they can alert our full-time staff. So again, just working really cooperatively and really well with our staff.
Mayor John Hamilton:
Three crews now, or three projects, or are we up-
Paula McDevitt:
We're up to four locations. So park maintenance, Switchyard Park, landscaping, and golf course.
Mayor John Hamilton:
Great. Great. So Paula, how many people have been involved in this? Do you know through the years now? Do you have an idea you can share with us?
Paula McDevitt:
I estimate about 70-75 clients have gone through. I do know from Centerstone it's a very popular program, and they always have more applications than we have spots for.
Mayor John Hamilton:
Oh, that's rewarding. That's a lot of people that have gone through this helping them and us. Congratulations.
Paula McDevitt:
Right. Absolutely.
Mayor John Hamilton:
So they make decent wages? Do you know the impact on some of the employees and any good stories out of that?
Paula McDevitt:
Absolutely. We are very proud that we pay a living wage as we pay all of our seasonal employees. And so to be able to extend that on, that's just a wonderful thing. And then success stories; there have been a few. We have a couple of the Centerstone crew that we have actually hired on our seasonal employees crew.
Mayor John Hamilton:
Moving from the project with Centerstone to just becoming regular direct employees? Three or four-
Paula McDevitt:
Four today, which is really great.
Mayor John Hamilton:
Great.
Paula McDevitt:
I also understand from Centerstone that many people that have gone through the program have found homes and a place to live and have gone on to other jobs, in fact. It just has a whole lot of, I think, outside positive outcomes that, again, when we started the conversation six years ago, we were very centered on the work that needed to get done, but the human side of this story and the partnership is really, really rewarding for all involved.
Mayor John Hamilton:
And they've joined the parks' family, I guess, some of them.
Paula McDevitt:
Absolutely.
Mayor John Hamilton:
Look, we could talk about this a long time, I know. I'm really proud of what parks has done, connecting challenging situations often with downtown parks and others, with people who sometimes can be sources of friction, but we turn them with this partnership into employees and building their dignity and their respect and employment opportunities and housing opportunities for many folks.
We'll have more information if you want about this program. Thank you for what you do and thank all you and your colleagues for working with Centerstone. We thank them for helping make this community stronger, better looking, and also a thriving place for more people.