The Dawn of Dignity

Launched in June 2025, the Dignity Team began not as a job, but as a mission — a pilot program designed as a template for future community initiatives. Between 11 and 14 participants, each in different leadership roles, met twice weekly. Each session started with designated areas to address, followed by a morning briefing workshop to provide encouragement and motivation for the day.

“Every street we clean, every moment we show up — it means something,” became the team’s guiding mantra. Each day concluded with a shared lunch and a reflection session, discussing what went well, what challenges arose, and how to improve the team’s services.

The pilot program partnered with local city officials to ensure alignment with regulations and collaborated with Public Works for chore guidance. Funded through a grant proposal, the initiative continues to pursue sustainable, long-term support.

From the start, the program aimed to fill gaps within the community — helping participants feel seen, valued, and empowered. By intentionally sharing encouragement and practical guidance, team members were motivated to engage in productive, meaningful work.

As the weeks progressed, participants realized their impact: “You matter — not because of your past, but because you’re here, showing up.” Real change, they discovered, doesn’t wait for someone else. With every step, they reshaped how the community saw its neighborhoods — and how they saw themselves as leaders.

By the final week of the pilot, the team embraced their full purpose: “We are the bridge.” Between struggle and stability. Between being overlooked and being seen. Between surviving the past and building a brighter future.

Though the pilot budget was eventually exhausted, the lessons learned have informed more strategic planning as the initiative prepares to officially launch. What began as a street-cleaning effort has grown into a movement — proof that dignity is built one step, one sweep, and one soul at a time.

— Hakim Coggins

                             Join us in sweeping change in Newport. Together, we rise.

Welcome to Empowering Resilient Communities

Resilience isn’t a buzzword—it’s a lifeline.
We created Empowering Resilient Communities to bring structure, purpose, and dignity to those facing real barriers. Our programs provide transitional work, mentorship, and wellness support for individuals ready to reclaim their future, starting with their community. Whether it’s cleaning a street, leading a workshop, or showing up every day ready to grow, we’re building more than jobs—we’re building lives.

Our Mission

To restore dignity, build opportunity, and promote community wellness through meaningful work, structured support, and human connection.

We believe in empowering individuals through purpose, not punishment. By creating transitional employment pathways rooted in care, consistency, and second chances, we’re building resilient communities where everyone has a role, and no one gets left behind.

Why We Exist

Everyone deserves the chance to be seen, supported, and included in shaping the future of their neighborhood.
We started Empowering Resilient Communities because traditional systems often miss the mark when it comes to people living at the margins. Here, we do things differently. We offer paid work opportunities, life coaching, recovery support, and community connection—all rooted in equity and care.
This isn’t charity. It’s accountability, empowerment, and transformation—led by those who’ve lived it.

What We Do

Street Sweeper Dignity Team
Paid neighborhood sanitation and beautification jobs for residents in need of structured work and a pathway forward. Participants receive weekly stipends, job coaching, and optional recovery support.

Life Skills & Leadership Workshops
Hands-on sessions focused on financial literacy, wellness, team building, and civic engagement, giving participants tools that last beyond the paycheck.

Transitional Employment Pipeline
From resume-building to long-term job placements, we support our team members with real steps toward permanent employment and self-sufficiency.

Be Part of the Solution

Whether you're a business owner, neighbor, policymaker, or someone looking for a fresh start, we need you.
Here’s how to get involved:

  • Volunteer your time or talents

  • Sponsor a stipend or workshop

  • Hire from our transitional pipeline

  • Donate to support ongoing programming

It takes a community to build community. Let’s get to work—together.

Our Long-Term Vision

We envision a future where resilience isn’t reactive—it’s built in.

Our long-term goal is to establish a year-round, city-supported employment and wellness model that provides consistent income, life coaching, and recovery resources to underserved residents.

This includes:

  • A fully staffed Dignity Team working in every Newport neighborhood

  • An on-site Community Empowerment Hub offering career readiness, peer mentoring, and crisis support

  • Strong partnerships with local government and businesses to ensure transitional work leads to permanent opportunity

  • A replicable model that other cities can adopt—rooted in community, powered by equity

This isn’t just a workforce program. It’s a blueprint for how cities can care for their people while building cleaner, safer, and more united communities.

 

In the quiet, early hours of the morning, before Newport wakes, a dedicated team is already in motion. Brooms in hand, safety vests glowing, and heads held high, they are the Street Sweeper Dignity Team. This local initiative is doing more than just tidying up the streets—they're sweeping away trash, stigma, and despair with every step.

Empowering Resilient Communities, launched by the community-driven organization Newport Bridge, stands as a beacon of transformation. At its heart is the Dignity Team, a trailblazing effort comprised of Newport residents who have faced housing insecurity, addiction recovery, or extended unemployment. What started as a simple plan to spruce up downtown during the busy tourist season has grown into something profoundly impactful: a program delivering hope, purpose, and a paycheck to those who need it most.

“People don’t just need shelter,” explains program coordinator Hakim Coggins. “They need dignity. They need to feel like they matter again. That begins with being seen—and valued.”

The Dignity Team’s work spans Newport’s busiest areas, clearing litter from sidewalks, parks, and alleyways. But their mission goes far beyond cleanliness. True to their name, they aim to restore dignity. Team members are paid for their work, participate in weekly life-skills workshops, and have access to optional support for recovery, housing, and job training.

At the same time, the program addresses a pressing city challenge. With tourism booming, keeping Newport clean is no small job. While other cities pour money into hiring outside sanitation companies, Newport has chosen a different path—one that invests in its own people and builds stronger communities in the process.

“We’re not just cleaning streets. We’re reclaiming lives,” shares Jason, one of the program’s first participants. “I used to walk these same streets with my head down. Now, I walk them with pride.”

The initiative is already turning heads. Local leaders and City Council members are exploring ways to expand the program, including funding for year-round employment and adding much-needed amenities like portable restrooms during peak seasons—a resource invaluable to both visitors and residents in transition.

As Newport grapples with issues like housing insecurity, addiction, and economic inequality, the Street Sweeper Dignity Team serves as a powerful reminder:

real change begins at street level—sometimes quite literally.

So, the next time you see a bright neon vest and a kind smile hard at work, don’t just say thank you. Say welcome back.