CSL and MoDOT Partner on Cleaner, Safer Roadways

August 29, 2024 | By: Doug Cowan, President & CEO

In August 2024, Community Services League (CSL) and the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) announced a partnership to make MoDOT roadways safer for all residents and drivers in Jackson County.

After operating the highly-successful Independence T.O.G.E.T.H.E.R. program for 18 months, CSL was well-positioned to respond to MoDOT’s recent Request for Proposal for roadway assistance. CSL will work with MoDOT to provide cleaning services on MoDOT roadways, rights-of-way, bridges, overpasses, green spaces, and other areas in their domain. CSL, as with our Independence T.O.G.E.T.H.E.R. program, will hire staff that are experiencing homelessness or housing instability, giving them a springboard to permanent housing and employment. Staff will also have access to a variety of supports related to health, education, identification, employment, transportation, finances, disability or Veteran status, basic needs, finances, and overall wellbeing.

Independence T.O.G.E.T.H.E.R. clears local roadways of trash and debris, and, importantly, provides jobs for individuals experiencing homelessness.

CSL will also employ two trained outreach workers to connect with those neighbors living in MoDOT areas. In ideal situations, we will be able to help unsheltered neighbors access temporary or permanent shelter. We will help all persons living in these areas find safer places to live. Our community has seen many instances where unsheltered persons have been killed on local MoDOT roads, drivers have experienced dangerous situations due to pedestrians in roadways, and tragic loss of life when temporary shelters have caught fire.

This person was residing at I-70 and Sterling Avenue in late 2023

Together, CSL and MoDOT will help create a safer and cleaner Jackson County. Read MoDOT’s press release at https://www.modot.org/node/53992.