Every day we fulfill our mission of keeping our neighborhoods clean, green, safe and beautiful, while providing City residents who face barriers to employment or who are exploring career paths a chance to work and earn a living.
Together with nonprofits we promote employment opportunities for teens and adults who are in and out of school, formerly incarcerated men and women, people who are homeless and other residents who have little or no job experience. Through on-the-job-training, help with resume writing, interview preparation and education, we emphasize the importance of job-readiness and prepare individuals for stable and productive income opportunities that benefit the community.
Hunters Point Family
Hunters Point Family empowers youth, young adults and formerly incarcerated at-risk residents. Participants are given the opportunity to re-enter society as stewards of their community and gain customer service, problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills. Hunters Point Family provides participants for the Tenderloin and SoMa Clean program, which supports the City's efforts to provide safe, clean and inviting public spaces by removing litter and other waste from sidewalks, corridors and the right of way in the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods.
Summer Youth Program: High school students are placed on supervised crews performing landscape maintenance and environmental cleanup. Duties include weeding, mulching, planting, watering and maintaining street medians, planters and pocket parks. Crews also participate in litter collection, graffiti abatement and basic right-of-way maintenance to help beautify neighborhoods across the City.
Youth employees are introduced to safe work practices, timekeeping and workplace expectations, while receiving mentorship from City staff and adult supervisors. The program is designed to provide early exposure to careers in the public sector and teach responsibility, teamwork and the basics of fieldwork in a municipal environment.
Tenderloin Community Benefit District (TLCBD)
The Tenderloin Clean Workforce Development Program offers year-round street and sidewalk maintenance while providing transitional employment opportunities to local residents facing barriers to traditional employment. This program plays a critical role in litter reduction and neighborhood cleanliness throughout the Tenderloin.
Participants, known as Street Ambassadors, are assigned daily routes covering high-traffic pedestrian corridors. Their responsibilities include sweeping sidewalks, collecting litter and trash, removing graffiti, cleaning around tree basins and planters, and ensuring sidewalks remain clear and navigable for all residents. They also monitor public spaces, report illegal dumping and damaged infrastructure through 311 service requests, and collect data to support neighborhood improvement metrics.
In addition to their cleaning duties, participants engage with unhoused individuals to connect them with needed services and serve as a public-facing presence that enhances safety and community rapport. Workers receive training in safety protocols, incident reporting and communication skills to operate effectively in a high-needs environment. The program emphasizes accountability through daily check-ins and supervision while fostering job readiness through life skills development and pathways to long-term employment.
Community Youth Center of San Francisco (CYCSF)
The Community Youth Center empowers and strengthens a diverse population of San Francisco youth and their families by providing comprehensive youth development. With a focus on low-income, high-need and at-risk Asian Americans, the organization provides job placement and employment training, crisis intervention and more. Participants can work with either the Citywide Steam Cleaning program, which provides steam cleaning services throughout the City, or the Litter Receptacle Cleaning program, which provides steam cleaning on trash cans located on sidewalks throughout the City.
Trash Can Steam Cleaning – Citywide:
Crews are dispatched daily to sanitize public trash receptacles throughout commercial corridors and high-use pedestrian zones. Workers operate mobile hot water pressure washing equipment mounted on small trucks or carts. Job duties include lifting and maneuvering trash cans, safely handling hoses and nozzles, refueling equipment, and applying degreasers or sanitizing agents to remove buildup.
Staff are trained to identify and report damaged or missing cans and to assess the sanitation needs of heavily trafficked areas. Each shift requires following a detailed route sheet, documenting before-and-after conditions, and ensuring minimal disruption to pedestrian or business access. This work helps prevent odor, vermin and overflows in areas with high foot traffic.
Sidewalk Pressure Washing and Litter Abatement – Chinatown:
Teams are assigned to early morning or midday shifts where they conduct sidewalk cleaning using gas-powered pressure washers and sweep litter from curbs, corners and planters. Workers are responsible for setting up safety barricades, connecting water tanks or hose lines, and methodically washing concrete and brick surfaces to remove food waste, stains and other public nuisances.
Litter abatement is done concurrently and includes hand-picking trash, emptying public waste bins and reporting bulky items or graffiti. Workers complete route logs, ensure water runoff complies with City regulations, and maintain equipment between uses. This is highly visible work done in tight commercial corridors with multilingual foot traffic, requiring awareness, attention to detail and professionalism.
Friends of the Urban Forest
Friends of the Urban Forest's mission is to promote a larger, healthier urban forest as part of San Francisco's green infrastructure through community planting, tree care, education and advocacy. Offering a variety of programs, they grow the City's urban forest while bringing neighbors together and empowering residents to make their neighborhoods greener. Participants in the Tree Planting and Establishment program with Public Works, provide tree planting, tree establishment and after-plating care for thousands of street trees.
Human Services Agency
Human Services Agency is a City and County of San Francisco department that promotes the well-being and self-sufficiency of San Francisco residents through their subsidized job placement program, JobsNow. JobsNow provides low-income residents with employment services and the opportunity to be a part of the Public Works Corridors Program. Participants of the Corridors Program assist Public Works with sweeping sidewalks and curbs, cleaning tree basins and abating graffiti from public furniture and buildings. They work in many neighborhoods throughout the City, focusing on commercial corridors and popular destinations for both residents and visitors.
San Francisco Clean City Coalition
San Francisco Clean City Coalition focuses on cleaning, greening and beautifying the City. The organization offers a four-month transitional workforce program that brings quality of life resources to neighborhood groups, merchant associations and residents. SF Clean City provides staff for the Tree Watering Services and Workforce Development program and the Landscape Maintenance Services program, which provides safe and well-maintained public planting areas and medians that are part of Public Works' many streetscape improvement projects.
Mission Hiring Hall
Pit Stop Program: Workers are stationed at mobile and fixed public restroom units and are responsible for keeping each site clean, stocked and operational throughout their shift. Duties include regular sanitization of toilets and sinks, restocking paper supplies, monitoring the use of facilities to prevent misuse, and assisting members of the public, including individuals experiencing homelessness.
Staff document all incidents, service schedules and maintenance needs while ensuring that the restroom site is safe and accessible. They work closely with mobile support teams and dispatch in case of plumbing issues, vandalism or emergencies. This program plays a key role in supporting public hygiene and neighborhood livability, especially in areas with limited restroom access.
San Francisco Unified School District (John O'Connell High School)
Youth Internship and Job Shadowing – SFUSD Pathways: Students from high school career pathway programs participate in short-term internships supporting administrative, technical or field operations. Interns may assist with data entry, tracking materials, shadowing inspectors or engineers, helping prepare project documentation, or supporting community events and logistics. Some placements involve visiting job sites to observe construction activities and learn about permitting and infrastructure maintenance.
Interns are expected to adhere to work schedules, complete assigned tasks and participate in career development activities like mock interviews, resume reviews and team meetings. The program fosters early interest in careers across trades, engineering, environmental services and operations within Public Works and related fields.
Lower Polk Community Benefit District
The Lower Polk Community Benefit District is a nonprofit Community Benefit District organization that brings public and private stakeholders together to improve the quality of life in the Lower Polk Neighborhood, a 22-block area along the Polk Street corridor. Staff at the Lower Polk Community Benefit District maintain the cleanliness of the community's public spaces and sidewalks and monitor the nearby Pit Stop public restroom.
Summer Student Internship Program
Public Works offers an internship program that allows college students to grow in the engineering, architecture, information technology, planning and project management fields through hands-on experience and mentorship opportunities with skilled professionals. The internship program prepares students for a smooth transition into the workforce and exposes them to the possibilities of a career with Public Works. Student interns assist and provide support to staff working on large-scale projects throughout San Francisco. Over the course of their internship, students gain pertinent planning, design and building experience by performing site visits and inspections, preparing cost estimates, creating models, drafting plans and developing reports and presentations.
Apprenticeship Program
Public Works, in partnership with the Department of Human Resources and local unions, offers a variety of apprenticeship programs that give young adults and others entering the workforce or changing careers the opportunity to gain on-the-job training as cement workers, plumbers, stationary engineers, arborist technicians, gardeners, laborers and environmental service workers. Our apprenticeship programs provide detailed training on how to use tools, equipment and materials, while working side-by-side skilled Public Works employees. At the end of the program, apprentices may be given the chance to transition into a full-time position with Public Works.
