By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
Several Baltimore neighborhoods long plagued with blight–including illegal dumping and long-term vacancy—have seen improvements in cleanliness in recent years.
As a part of Mayor Brandon M. Scott’s (D) endeavor to ensure Baltimore has clean and healthy communities, he launched Clean Corps in February 2023 via $14.6 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding.
“Since its launch, Clean Corps has completed over 11,000 vacant lot cleanings and mowings, nearly 15,000 alley services, 7,000 street-front services and removed 1,500 tons of trash from Baltimore City streets,” said Chris Ryer, director of the Department of Planning. “We have countless stories of alleys that were once impassible, blocked by years of overgrowth and layers of hardened debris, now accessible to the community.”
According to the Clean Corps data dashboard, some of the latest services completed include sidewalk and trash can cleanups and the mowing and trimming of vacant lots in Upton and Johnston Square.
Several of these underserved neighborhoods have a majority Black and impoverished population. According to the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance, 87.6 percent of the population in Upton/Druid Heights is Black and 36.5 percent is living below the poverty line.
Clean Corps rolled out a new aspect of their initiative this year, the Clean Community Challenge. It draws inspiration from the AFRO Clean Block program, a community beautification campaign in the city that was launched in 1934 by the Baltimore AFRO American Newspaper.
“A number of residents reflected fondly on the AFRO Clean Block program and how it inspired them to take pride in maintaining clean and beautiful blocks,” said Treston Codrington, Clean Corps program director. “After meeting with the AFRO Archives team for an overview of the history of the AFRO Clean Block program and a tour of the impressive AFRO Archives, we were inspired by the friendly competition and local aspect of the program.”
Utilizing the AFRO Clean Block model, neighborhood leaders in each Clean Corps neighborhood are able to propose a community cleaning or greening project. If they win, they receive a $1,500 award, supplies, help organizing the project and technical expertise from Clean Corps and the Environmental Control Board.
The awarding of the outstanding cleaning and beautification projects is expected to take place this summer.
“The fundamental aspect of Clean Corps is its community-based approach to service,” said Nichole Stewart, assistant director of the Department of Planning. “Our nonprofit partners work with us and the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development to provide trainings, workshops and other resources to help them build hard and soft skills.”
Each neighborhood has a local partner to help identify service locations and communicate community needs. Clean Corps has employed over 150 people, including returning citizens who gained skills, education and expunged records.
Ryer shared that initially, Clean Corps served 17 neighborhoods, which were chosen from 33 communities all facing high 311 cleaning-related requests and population decline. The effort has since expanded to include 42 neighborhoods.
In its second year, Clean Corps piloted a Regional Model of Service, where teams would work in larger service areas, responding to community requests and monitoring known hotspots. The regional model allowed the program to extend into 2026 under existing funding. It was originally expected to end in January of this year.
“In our third year, Clean Corps hopes to not only address trash on the ground but the root causes behind illegal dumping, littering and improper trash disposal,” said Codrington. “With our new ‘Preventative Strategy,’ we are implementing special services in neighborhoods with the most chronic and persistent cleanliness issues. These services are meant to provide current and future code violators with alternatives to dumping and improper trash disposal.”
Codrington said Clean Corps has already begun organizing community dumpster days and curbside bulk-item pickup for residents in these neighborhoods as an alternative to leaving bulk items in their alleys.
For anyone looking to connect with Clean Corps service opportunities in your neighborhood, go to https://planning.baltimorecity.gov/programs-initiatives/clean-corps.