The Jonathan McClurg, President and CEO of Coastodians, talks about volunteers helping clean up RI's beaches and shoreline.

* McClurg and Vertentes, both recovering from depression and alcoholism, find the work therapeutic and a way to give back to the community.

* The pair have collected an estimated 500 pounds of trash, with nip bottles being the most prevalent item.

* Coastodians relies on donations and fundraising to support their efforts, hoping to acquire vehicles for larger debris removal.

NARRAGANSETT - Jonathan McClurg and Luis Vertentes met each other when the two men were cleaning up the emotional wreckage of their lives.

McClurg's father died in 2021, a loss that sent him into a deep depression and excess drinking. Vertentes was similarly battling depression and alcoholism.

But that wasn't the only thing they had in common. Both men grew up near the water - Vertentes is the son of a Portuguese fisherman - and had a deep love for it. The ocean beckoned both of them as they healed.

"My father was buried at sea, so coming down to the ocean helped me grieve," McClurg said.

McClurg had left his job as a pipe fitter due to the high-stress nature of it and joined the Block Island ferry. It was while riding the ferry that he noticed the effects of pollution on the environment and wildlife: dead dolphins and seals wrapped in fishing lines, flotsam littering the water, detritus strewn across the coastline.

"I grew up on the ocean my whole life, so I have heard constantly people complain about the trash, and I've never seen anybody do anything [about it]," McClurg said.

So he and Vertentes decided to do something about it.

In May they filed paperwork to form a nonprofit called "Coastodians," a play on the words custodians and coast. Their mission is clean cut: rid Rhode Island's coastline of all trash, starting with Narragansett.

If you go down to one of Narragansett's many beaches in the afternoon, you may catch the two men, along with a handful of volunteers, picking their way along the shore.

McClurg said they find a lot of glass, metal chunks, beer cans, chicken bones and, of course, fishing gear. Once Vertentes dug out a set of dentures.

But the biggest culprit is nip bottles of alcohol - which to McClurg and Vertentes is a reminder of their journey.

"Picking up the nip bottles has a big effect on me and Luis, because we both struggled with alcohol through our depression," McClurg said. "That's what our medicine was to help us through it. And now that we're picking up the empty bottles, it's almost like picking up our past."

State beaches, which have a carry-in, carry-out trash policy, are among the most polluted. This summer, McClurg and Vertentes went to a state beach, which, according to an employee whom McClurg asked gets cleaned daily, and they pulled over 100 pounds of trash.

"People don't want to take trash home in their vehicles," he said.

McClurg estimated that so far they have picked up about 500 pounds worth of trash from the coastline.

Sometimes, however, they find treasure. On a recent afternoon, Vertentes stumbled across a kayak paddle in good shape. The pair plan to sell such finds to fund their endeavor.

They need the cash. They are not getting paid for cleaning the coastline - in fact, McClurg has sunk much of his own money into buying gear for picking up and discarding trash.

They have received some support from the public, raising about $1,400 through crowdfunding online. And Coastodians recently got approved to run as a 501(c)(3). With that designation, McClurg hopes to apply for grants and raise funds to buy vehicles to carry large items such as lobster traps, as the pair currently use their electric bike and scooter to haul trash out.

There is, however, an intangible reward for the work. For McClurg and Vertentes, it is as much about community as it is about the environment. A part of it is giving back.

"It's about doing something positive with myself, doing something great for the community that has helped me through the tough time in my life," McClurg said.

There is also an emotionally salubrious aspect to it. Much like their own experience, they said, volunteers who join them find the work to be healing.

Vertentes remembers that once, after cleaning in Galilee, homeowners came out and thanked them for their efforts.

"That right there, to me, is the best medicine in the world," Vertentes said.