Ready, Willing & Able | The Doe Fund

The Doe Fund, a nonprofit organization founded in 1985 to help formerly homeless men and women attain self-sufficiency, is providing the trainees to clean Main St. in Flushing from Northern Blvd. to Sanford Ave., as well as several adjacent streets.

The three men and their supervisors will be on hand from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. to give Flushing's main thoroughfare a much cleaner look, said George McDonald, founder and president of the Doe Fund.

The workers are part of the Doe Fund's Ready, Willing & Able program.

"The participants, formerly homeless and disadvantaged men and women, are provided housing, jobs, life skills, education and the support services necessary to rebuild their lives," McDonald said.

The trainees are paid $5.50 to $6.50 an hour for their work, he said. The idea is to get the participants on the road to self-sufficiency.

"They successfully complete the program when they have obtained full-time private-sector employment, market-rate, self-supported housing and drug- and/or alcohol-free living," McDonald said.

Businesses tapped for funds

City Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing) reached out to McDonald after he saw the program working successfully in Forest Hills and Rego Park.

Liu persuaded a group of local business owners in Flushing to donate the funds necessary to pay for the service.

The group, called Destination Flushing, is an early step in the formation of a business improvement district for the area, Liu said.

"It is a prelude to the BID. It is bridging the gap in time between now and when the BID is up and running," he said.

Liu predicted the BID would be "up and running within months."

The local business people fully support the BID, "but they also feel, like I do, that we have to do something right now - especially with the holiday season coming up," he said.

Liu and the business leaders are expected to release details of the BID tomorrow evening at the Flushing Library.

"We are looking for a strong partnership between the private businesses and city government to really improve the conditions we have here in Flushing and to unlock the full potential of this town," Liu said.