The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department’s Community Works Program (CWP) took part in “Keep Chelsea Beautiful’s Sixth Annual Spring Clean–up”, in coordination with Keep America Beautiful on Saturday, April 28.

The CWP program was created for low–risk inmates at the Suffolk County House of Correction who have received vocational training in areas including landscaping and ground maintenance, painting, building maintenance, and carpentry. These inmates are taken into Suffolk County to use the skills they have learned to make improvements in public spaces. The goal of the program is to reduce recidivism by teaching inmates to become employable citizens upon release, while also saving thousands of tax dollars on each project the crews work on.

Working under the supervision of Officer Bill Berardinelli, members of the CWP spent the morning and afternoon clearing lots of weeds and debris, removing trash along highway onramps and avenues, and disposing of fallen tree limbs throughout the City of Chelsea.

In recent months, the Department’s CWP crews have worked throughout Winthrop, Revere, East Boston, and Chelsea cleaning local highways, parks, and other locations.

According to Berardinelli, the CWP crews have also assisted in other forms of neighborhood beautification efforts, painting tennis courts, baseball fields, and nearly 90 hydrants throughout local neighborhoods. The Department’s CWP crews have also employed their brushes and rollers in the task of blotting out graffiti in area parks.

“It’s a great thing for the community,” said Officer Berardinelli. “There are a lot of spots in the neighborhoods that are blighted. The inmates in the CWP program pick up trash, weeds, clean up dirt, clear brush and [fallen] branches, and remove debris. They really help to make a difference.”

Josh Monahan, Special Projects Coordinator for City of Chelsea, offered praise for both the volunteers and the nearly perfect weather conditions that they worked under.

“The cleanup started with 40 volunteers, not including the CWP crew, in Chelsea Square,” Monahan said. “By the afternoon, the number grew from 40 to close to 100 volunteers working by Mill Creek. And the CWP guys working at MBTA were very spirited working on a very tough spot. They did a nice job on it.”

“In Chelsea, the volunteers removed everything from shopping carriages to random miscellaneous trash,” Monahan continued. “We also had people working at the parking lot sites on Fifth Street and areas of higher traffic. This year’s event was quite successful and we couldn’t have asked for better weather.”

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