14 DAY TRIAL // In what might be today’s weirdest piece of news, word has it that the city of Essen in Germany is now on the market for alcoholics and other addicts who are ready and willing to get busy cleaning this urban area's streets.
So far, so good. There is absolutely nothing wrong with trying to help folks addicted to various substances by offering them employment. In fact, it's something that should be done more often.
What's bananas about this little project is that, by the looks of it, the alcohol and drug addicts that this German town wants to employ as street cleaners will be paid in beer and tobacco products.
Admittedly, they will also be given a hot meal at the end of the day as well as $1.58 (€1.25) for each and every hour that they will spend cleaning Essen's streets, but let's face it, it's the news about the payment in beer and tobacco that's the headliner here.
Not such a bad idea after all
According to The Local, this one-of-a-kind project is the brainchild of a group dubbed Direct Addiction Help. Contrary to what some might assume, the goal is not to take advantage of addicts and get them to clean Essen's streets for no proper salary.
Thus, project coordinator Oliver Balgar maintains that what he and the other folks behind this initiative wish to do is make it easier for people who are addicted to alcohol and various drugs, and who cannot abstain from these substances, to get back on their feet.
“The project participants are people who need to have a daily structure just to get back on their feet,” project coordinator Oliver Balgar commented on this initiative in a recent interview with the press.
“The aim of the program is not to supply people with beer. For the participants it is about a meaningful daily structure, feeling useful and learning a new way to behave,” members and supporters of Direct Addiction Help wished to stress.
When should we expect to see addicts cleaning streets?
This innovative project, which goes by the name Pick Up, officially debuted this Wednesday. Direct Addiction Help members, together with local authorities, are busy recruiting people interested in taking part in it and hope they will soon settle on six city cleaners.
The initiative is overseen by social workers, and Direct Addiction Help reassures that, to avoid any trouble, the people taking part in this program will be offered just three beers at the end of the day.