In Birmingham, the city has been making strides in combatting the coronavirus using a unique partnership inspired by a decades-old service program.

It was modeled after the Works Project Administration (WPA) from the New Deal Era under Franklin D. Roosevelt and is a part of a new public-private partnership called Bham Strong, a two-part economic stabilization strategy aimed at fortifying small businesses and works to help the community amid COVID-19.

Instead, we have acknowledged that we must combat both,” said Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin in an interview with BLACK ENTERPRISE about the city taking a different approach to the viral outbreak.

The Service Corps was meant to be a more active approach to handling the crisis similar to how the city handling the Great Depression recovery.

The goal is to enlist recently unemployed workers as paid volunteers for temporary jobs to help meet basic community needs that have emerged as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.