Ready, Willing & Able - Philadelphia

Perhaps you have seen the "men in blue" of our flagship program, Ready, Willing & Able. They work in the Community Improvement Project, providing street cleaning services throughout Philadelphia. Work crews sweep streets, bag garbage and refuse, clear gutters, steam clean sidewalks, shovel snow and remove graffiti. In addition to providing paid work for the trainees, the Project provides a valuable service to these neighborhoods and helps to change perceptions of homelessness, as well as the participants' perceptions of themselves. Dressed in bright blue uniforms, the visible presence of Ready, Willing & Able trainees and the tangible evidence of their dedication and hard work refute the idea that the homeless are unwilling or unable to work.

Ready, Willing & Able (RWA) is The Doe Fund's residential work and job skills training program which empowers, employs and supports homeless individuals in their efforts to become self-sufficient, contributing members of society. By providing work experience and support services, RWA has helped hundreds of men and women, who used to live and beg on city streets, to become drug-free, achieve full-time employment, and move into their own self-supported housing.

RWA targets the segment of the homeless population considered the hardest to serve: single, able-bodied adults, many of whom have histories of incarceration and substance abuse. RWA seeks motivated individuals who are determined to turn their lives around, individuals who need and want the opportunity, treatment and training necessary to become self-sufficient.