San Joaquin Regional Conservation Corps members are doing their part to beautify the City of Stockton as the Graffiti Abatement Technician and Clean Up Crew.

Arturo Aleman, a 21-year old father of two, driven by his hope to make up for his past, is building a new life as the City of Stockton Graffiti Technician with the help from San Joaquin Regional Conservation Corps (SJRCC).

Aleman arrives at the City of Stockton headquarters just before 7:30 a.m. SJRCC has taught him that being on-time to work is late and early is on-time. He and Abel Jacques, the City of Stockton Graffiti Abatement Technician, load up the truck with paint, check the phone-in log for graffiti and vandalism from the night before, and then head out to the “hot spots.”

“Hot spots are areas frequently targeted by graffiti vandals,” said Jacques. “We check them regularly, with the overall goal of removing graffiti as soon as possible.” However, he shares that their priority is to remove gang affiliated tagging because it could lead to gang recourse and crime. “Most of the tagging is just scribble … but we want to get it down as soon as possible.”  

On the other side of town, Valencia Quintero, Junior Crew Leader, along with Ruben Guzman Colin and Rafael Ballestreros are charged with properly disposing of abandoned litter such as couches, mattresses and tires. Before working for SJRCC, all three struggled to find jobs that would give them personal fulfillment as well as pay their bills. “This job feels good,” said Ballestreros. “People stop me to say ‘thank you for cleaning up’. It feels good to be appreciated.”

Peter Lemos, the Police Services Manager of the City of Stockton, would agree. He explains that this partnership is helping the City of Stockton tremendously. “The SJRCC is able to address problems that we have not had the ability to address since 2008,” said Lemos. “Additionally, they get to learn life skills to see how code enforcement and government work in our City.”

From the downturn in the economy, the City of Stockton could not afford to do anything proactive such as neighborhood clean-up sweeps. Now, the City of Stockton contracts with SJRCC to assist its Graffiti and Litter Abatement allowing them to provide other resources to citizens. SJRCC removes nearly 40,000 square feet of graffiti and 9,000 cubic feet of trash monthly for the City of Stockton.

Graffiti and Litter Abatement are components of SJRCC’ Recycling and Natural Resource Divisions. In addition to the City of Stockton, SJRCC provides services to more than 30 private, non-profit, and government agencies within San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Calaveras and Amador counties. Its Recycling Division handles waste diversion through the collection of recyclables from businesses, schools, and special events. The Natural Resource Division works on projects involving environmental conservation, habitat restoration, landscape maintenance, pubic safety issues and public land beautification. 

“What’s unique about our recycling and natural resource program is our mission,” said Nicholas Mueller, Coordinator of SJRCC. SJRCC provides young adults, ages 18 – 25, with academic instruction, employment, green job training, and life skills. Mueller explains that the program’s passion is to motivate, educate and serve local youth and communities. Through hard work and environmental stewardship, corpsmembers learn skills that inspire them to be the change they want to see. 

Aleman agrees, “If you would have told me five years ago that I would be doing what I’m doing today—I wouldn’t have believed you. It’s because of SJRCC that I’m making it. I’m living life.”

SJRCC is looking to expand its program. By providing more services to the community, it will allow more opportunities for young adults.

Click here for information about SJRCC. Click here to learn about the City of Stockton’s Graffiti Removal program.