Baltimore kicks off $15 million Clean Corps, paying residents to clean their neighborhoods

City leaders gathered in front of a trash-strewn alleyway in East Baltimore Monday afternoon to kickoff a new community cleaning program that will pay residents to tackle litter and waste in their own neighborhoods. Grants from the $14.7 million “Clean Corps” initiative will go to six community groups covering neighborhoods in East, West and South Baltimore, Mayor Brandon Scott and city officials said. City leaders hope the new initiative will serve multiple needs, removing trash while creating jobs for underemployed Baltimoreans and establishing a new pipeline of workers for the city’s strapped Department of Public Works.