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Mark · Site Admin Joined: 13 Nov 2007 Posts: 1052

The Weekend Shift: Cleaning Houses

http://weekendamerica.publicradio...lay/web/2008/09/13/weekend_shift/

Excerpt:

It's a Saturday afternoon, and Monica Valerio is cleaning her second Brooklyn brownstone for the day. But the middle-aged Dominican woman scrubs with an almost exuberant energy. Valerio is a pro. Ever since immigrating to the US nearly two decades ago, she has been cleaning New York City homes. For most of those years, Valerio found her jobs through word of mouth or posting flyers. Then she entered strange homes alone. If the client decided not to pay her, Valerio had virtually no recourse. That is, until a client surprised her with a proposition.

For most of 20 years, Valerio has quietly scrubbed bathrooms and classrooms here at the Center for Family Life in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The organization provides assistance, including job placement, to the needy. Two years ago the nonprofit had a problem and thought Valerio might just be the person to help solve it.