A partnership between Michigan Works, the city of Benton Harbor, and engineering firm Abonmarche is providing some young people from Benton Harbor with summer work while sprucing up curbsides. Abonmarche Asset Management Coordinator Bret Witkowski tells WSJM News he helped connect the partners to give job training to local students.
“The city had a desire to have the numbers of the addresses of the properties painted in front on the curb,” Witkowski said. “You’ve seen that in different communities here and there. So working with the city and Kinexus, we were able to pull both of them together. Kinexus has been great about supporting the program through Michigan Works.”
Witkowski says the three young men now painting addresses on curbs throughout the city are gaining work experience.
“It will help out the Amazon drivers as they’re delivering packages, FedEx, all of that type of stuff.”
Michigan Works is financing the program, while Benton Harbor supervises it. Witkowksi says it will probably take a few summers to cover the whole city.
