KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County. Share your story idea with Tod.
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The Community Services League has partnered with the city of Independence and the Missouri Department of Transportation on programs that have removed 1 million pounds of trash from roadways around Jackson County, but the real genius of the program is the way it’s transforming lives.
Lela Vance has been homeless for 8 1/2 years, bouncing from couch to couch after leaving an abusive relationship before landing on the streets.
“I felt like a burden on everybody, and if I'm out here, I wasn't a burden on anybody,” Vance said.
She started working for Independence TOGETHER, a program that pays people experiencing homelessness to pick up trash from public spaces, last September.
“It transformed my life,” Vance said. “I am actually looking up. It's given me hope that I could still do it. I had hit the rock bottom before. This is actually a stepping stone to get a better job and get into a house.”
Vance remains homeless for now, but the wages she earned through Independence TOGETHER helped pay for propane to keep her warm this winter. She’s also started building a nest egg and, with help from other programs at the Community Services League, or CSL, has applied for housing.
“I want to take the next step in my life to make it better,” Vance said.
Juan Escutia has worked for MoDOT’s litter clean-up crew since the program launched two years ago. He’ll reach a major milestone Saturday.
“I get to move into my apartment, my own apartment, that I’ve been trying to get for almost two years,” Escutia said.
Losing a job — then his wallet, including his identification — started a spiral that landed Escutia on the streets, but he’s an example of the daily miracle of the program.
“You start this with a goal of picking up trash — and, yes, we’ve picked up a million pounds of trash, which is astonishing all by itself — but the real goal is to help people find a way back,” Independence City Council member Bridget McCandless said.
During a ceremony Friday afternoon, the Community Services League celebrated picking up the 1 millionth pound of trash since the program launched in March 2023 — but the way the program picks up people has been even more impressive.
“I like coming to work,” said Escutia, who bragged that he hasn’t missed a day with the cleanup crew in two years. “It’s awesome. I’m planning to get a second job then hopefully get me a car then keep going up from there.”
Vance hopes to follow a similar path.
“It gives me hope that I'll be there someday,” she said.
Vance has two children, now teenagers, who have been adopted by other families.
“They took my kids when I was in the abusive relationship and, because I couldn't have a steady home, I chose to let them get adopted out because I couldn't give them the life that they deserved,” Vance said. “But when they turn 18 or whatever, if they want to come find me, I don’t want to be in the same position that I was, so my kids are also behind why I need to better my life.”
Independence TOGETHER has been the perfect vehicle for her to do just that.
“It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it and it makes it a better place — you know, a more beautiful place,” Vance said.
She continued, “I'm not ashamed of it. I pick up trash for a living, but it's through the Community Services League. They're helping me in return. I feel that's me saying, ‘Thanks for helping me.’”
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