A program run by a nonprofit organization in Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture, to hire homeless people and help them get back on their feet is bearing fruit a year and a half after its inception.
Benriya, a group of handymen operated by the NPO Nowami's support center, has hired some 360 homeless people since it launched its services in June 2011, offering odd jobs, including moving services, plumbing and mowing lawns, that are arranged by phone.
A 26-year-old homeless man worked for Benriya all of last August and earned several thousand yen each day as an assistant to carpenters. For some six years, the man had wandered around Aichi Prefecture, sometimes spending nights in Internet cafes when he could afford it.