As cleanup in areas devastated by Hurricane Harvey and Irma moves forward there will be a need for workers willing to get their hands dirty during restoration.
On Tuesday News Channel 5 learned several members of Nashville's homeless community are working in Texas, but its not clear when or if they'll be back.
The Nashville Rescue Mission tells us after Hurricane Harvey, a staffing company showed up and began to recruit members of homeless community. They encouraged them to get on a bus and head south for paid work, $7.25 an hour for travel. They'd be housed in a local motel and work from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., 6 days a week. They were also told they could make up to $6,000 dollars in six weeks. Keep in mind, the job offers are not affiliated, approved or sanctioned by the Mission.
"Red flags go up for me," said Melanie Barnett. "There's just a lot of security and safety concerns that I would have personally."
Barnett is the Community Development Director at nearby Room in the Inn. "A lot of the folks who are wanting to work have barriers that they face, it may be mental health, it may be physical," she explained. "Moving somewhere, working for a little while and then being homeless there is not a solution for them."
The Mission tells us some folks have already purchased bus tickets to come back, citing bad sleeping or working conditions. While any job may seem better than none Barnett wants people to make the best decisions for themselves.
"I think for anyone, regardless of your current situation, a quick fix is usually too good to be true," Barnett said.
News Channel 5 has attempted to reach out to the company who was recruiting folks from Nashville but our calls have not been returned as of Tuesday evening.
Members of the homeless community looking for work are encouraged to stop by is Room in the Inn, their goal is to get people in jobs that will turn into careers.
