\u201cVisually, it\u2019s much calmer, more peaceful,\u201d says Lavinia Solomon, another neighbor who runs the wellness nonprofit and community farm Sovereign Siblings<\/a> in the neighborhood. \u201cIt\u2019s just really changed the dynamic. It makes it much easier to get outside.\u201d<\/p>\n Four-year-old Glitter, initially pitched as a City pilot, received its B Corp certification this summer, launched a new member hub that gives real time updates on block cleanings this fall, and is looking to expand its community partnerships and services \u2014 including a new edition of its Safe Steps program in elsewhere in West Philly, which aims to make streets safer and combat gun violence through cleaning.<\/p>\n Neighbors on 1,250 blocks pay Glitter to clean up. Grants and other resources fund another 500 blocks on a project basis. Looking ahead, the company hopes to become a resource for building community \u2014 not just cleaning streets. They\u2019ve worked with neighborhoods to address issues like addiction, and are looking to add services like sidewalk repair.<\/p>\n \u201cI like to say that Nextdoor\u2019s where people go to complain; Glitter\u2019s where people are going to go to solve problems,\u201d Glitter Founder Morgan Berman says.<\/p>\n Back in 2018, Berman was a frustrated new mom who was sick of pushing her daughter\u2019s stroller around piles of trash.<\/a> She was also the founder of the tech company MilkCrate<\/a> and a serial problem solver. So she became president of her civic association and set out to fix her South Philly neighborhood\u2019s trash problem. She quickly found people were more interested in complaining than working together to find true solutions. \u201cAll of our neighborhood meetings were just people behaving horribly towards each other,\u201d Berman remembers.<\/p>\n She came up with the idea for Glitter to address two problems at once: It would pay people in need of work to clean sidewalks in need of cleaning, on a block-by-block basis. The work would be flexible, so people could pick up trash whenever it fit into their schedules. The City initially agreed to fund the idea but then backed out, saying they didn\u2019t want to fund an \u201cunproven pilot,\u201d<\/a> citing the need for an RFP.<\/a> Glitter embraced a neighborhood subscription model instead.<\/p>\n Quickly, Berman and Brandon Pousely, who joined as CEO about a year after Glitter\u2019s founding, noticed their service did more than just keep streets clean. When trash was gone, more people went outside and built relationships with each other. Soon, neighbors started coming to them for help solving other problems.<\/p>\n One business owner in Kensington who purchased a subscription service for her block asked for help addressing the syringes that covered the streets. Glitter didn\u2019t just pick them up, they helped neighbors work with police, the department of health, local property management companies and nonprofits to get people struggling with addiction the help they need and make the block cleaner and safer overall.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people, for better or worse, are playing the game of: Where can we point the blame?\u201d Pousely says. \u201cWe show up and say, Where can we get started on fixing the problem?\u201d<\/p>\n Safer, cleaner, greener <\/p>\n Research has repeatedly found that cleaner streets are safer ones. In 2018, Penn\u2019s Dr. Eugenia C. South<\/a> found that cleaning and greening neighborhoods reduced crime there<\/a>by up to 29 percent.<\/a> Glitter has seen similar results with its Safe Steps initiatives, which partner with local government leaders and use grant funding to clean streets to reduce gun violence. The first iteration of the program, Safe Steps Northwest, found that crime dropped an additional 25 percent on blocks Glitter cleaned.<\/p>\n PA State Senator Art Haywood, who represents parts of Northwest Philadelphia, approached Glitter about cleaning to reduce gun violence in 2022. He collected $5,000 from neighbors in Germantown and Mt. Airy and they did an eight-block pilot cleaning program that summer. The results were clear, if anecdotal:<\/a> More people spent time outside when the streets were cleaner, hanging out on the porch or chatting with neighbors, which, in turn, made streets safer.<\/p>\n Glitter used those results to apply for a grant from the PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency\u2019s Violence Intervention and Prevention program, won $818,000, and in the summer of 2024, expanded those efforts with Safe Steps Northwest. The program concluded this June. Throughout, Glitter cleaners worked with neighbors to report quality of life issues \u2014 like abandoned cars or illegal dumping \u2014 to the City and to build relationships with neighbors to help them transition to a paid subscription model when the grant funding ran out.<\/p>\n About 20 blocks in Safe Steps Northwest opted to start subscriptions so that Glitter could stay in the neighborhood and others in the area remain funded via programs like Glitter\u2019s Impact Fund,<\/a> which allows subscribers to donate money to support cleaning on other blocks.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re sort of mini quality of life officers. We\u2019re reducing crime. We\u2019re increasing community pride. We should be doing this throughout the whole city.\u201d \u2014 PA State Representative Jared Solomon<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, it\u2019s not 300 blocks,\u201d Pousley says. Still, he adds, \u201cIt\u2019s nice to be able to see a continued presence in the area.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, they\u2019re using grant funding to bring Safe Steps to other parts of the city. The second iteration, Safe Steps Northeast, began this spring, and Safe Steps West Philly launched this fall, after the Carroll Park pilot. Pousley and Berman hope that the West and Northeast editions will be able to replicate the success of Northwest Philly.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we heard back from community members is that it was incredibly meaningful for them. They felt like they could engage in opportunities with their neighbors, sit on the front stoop, watch their children play,\u201d says Rhena McClain, senior director of ECS St Barnabas Community Resource Center, which has partnered with Glitter on the pilot and the expansion of Safe Steps West Philly. \u201cThey wanted to keep it going.\u201d<\/p>\n Northeast Philly State Representative Jared Solomon says he\u2019s already seen an impact with Safe Steps Northeast. He\u2019s long been a believer in the impact cleaning can have on crime, and procured a small grant to transform an overgrown parcel of land into a park he says reduced crime there by 40 percent.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was unbelievable,\u201d he says. \u201cIt brought a sense of community pride to the area, which<\/p>\n really turned the tide.\u201d<\/p>\n He thought, \u201cif we could do that in this small area, imagine if we did it throughout the whole community.\u201d So he partnered with Glitter, won another grant, and in March Glitter began hiring local cleaners for the more than 500 residential blocks in the district. Solomon has been impressed that the cleaners are keeping blocks tidier, but also that they\u2019ve reported abandoned cars, mattresses left outside as junk, illegal dumping and other issues.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re sort of mini quality of life officers,\u201d Solomon says. \u201cWe\u2019re reducing crime. We\u2019re increasing community pride. I think it\u2019s a great model. We should be doing this throughout the whole city.\u201d<\/p>\n A responsibility for our sidewalks <\/p>\n Speaking of the City, you might wonder: Shouldn\u2019t local governments be paying for services like street and sidewalk cleaning? Glitter was originally conceived of as something the City would use and pay for, after all.<\/p>\n Sidewalks (and keeping them clean) are a bit more complicated than that, however. Property owners \u2014 not the City \u2014 own and are responsible for the maintenance of sidewalks, alleys and driveways. That means everything from keeping the sidewalks free of trash to fixing any cracks falls to residents, landlords, and business owners.<\/p>\n Private companies and public-private partnerships have also long supplemented services offered by the City. An individual who wants to recycle more niche items may purchase a subscription to Rabbit Recycling. Business improvement districts often pay for additional street cleaning services in their neighborhoods.<\/p>\n \u201cI like to say that Nextdoor\u2019s where people go to complain; Glitter\u2019s where people are going to go to solve the problems.\u201d \u2014 Glitter Founder Morgan Berman<\/p>\n \u201cWe like the idea of people having an option when they want to receive an additional service \u2014 just like people who would like someone to help them maintain their lawn or their garden bed,\u201d Pousley says.<\/p>\n Glitter pays its cleaners $25 per block, which, they estimate takes 60 to 90 minutes. For three out of the past four years, the company has been able to offer a profit-sharing bonus to employees, as well.<\/p>\n The Safe Steps programs focus on hiring local residents like Yasmene Hewlett. She had been job searching for months, hoping to find work flexible enough to allow her to care for her three young children. A friend who worked for Glitter suggested she apply. Hewlett appreciates Glitter\u2019s flexibility and how it\u2019s helped her connect with neighbors.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely gotten me out of my shell,\u201d she says. \u201cI have conversations with people. They love it when you clean.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Glitter in every neighborhood <\/p>\n Pousley and Berman have a clear vision for Glitter\u2019s future: Provide regular cleaning for 10,000 blocks in Philly. That number is taken from the City\u2019s 2019 Litter Index (the last year we completed one), which found that half of Philly\u2019s 18,000 blocks<\/a> needed regular cleaning.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Glitter-update-kids.jpg\"\/)
Kids at Glitter\u2019s sign-up table get their hands clean. The antidote to Nextdoor <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Glitter-update-table.jpg\"\/)
Where neighbors can sign up. <\/p>\n
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MORE SOLUTIONS FOR OUR TRASH AND LITTER PROBLEM<\/p>\n