Day labor vital option for homeless, others
Local shelter helps find temporary work for residents
BY GREG POGUE • GPOGUE@DNJ.COM• March 6, 2011
MURFREESBORO — While the post-recession economy continues to recover, so does the job market.
But there are still many who not only live paycheck to paycheck, but day to day and meal to meal. That translates to folks trying to find any job they can for as short or as long as they can.That produces an abundance of day laborers who are contracted by businesses and/or individuals to work on various short-term projects.
According to a study called "On The Corner" conducted at the University of California at Los Angeles several years ago, there were an estimated 260,000 individuals working as day laborers in the United States. Of that group, around 75 percent were undocumented immigrants.
But there are those who legally depend upon day labor to make ends meet, according to Christine Huddleston, founder and director of Room in the Inn, a homeless shelter in Murfreesboro located on West Main Street.
"I have been around here for a long time," said Huddleston, who has led Room in the Inn for 25 years. "And people know they can call me or come by and see if we have any current residents who can fit what jobs that might need done."
For example, Huddleston sent three Room in the Inn residents to a construction job in Nashville one day last week. As a rule, any resident she lines up for work makes $10 per hour.
"They do a little better than minimum wage," said Huddleston, who currently houses 23 persons at the shelter, including two families.
The Journey Home, located on West Castle Street, is a Christian outreach for homeless and needy in Rutherford County. And although it is not part of their services, staffers there also assist in helping people find jobs, even if they are of the daily variety.
"We generally would let people know there may be individuals looking for work at 6 a.m.," said Scott Foster, executive director for The Journey Home. "We serve breakfast from 6-8 a.m., and we often have people looking for work during that period of time."
Usually, though, Foster directs potential laborers to local staffing agencies. But The Journey Home does provide volunteers who assist potential employees enhance their job worthiness and readiness.
And with spring and summer approaching, Foster said there are more opportunities for day laborers.
"Often, the work might include house work, moving furniture, yard work, that type of manual work," he said.
Another agency that assists in matching laborers with employees is the Salvation Army. Staff members at all three agencies — Room in the Inn, The Journey Home and the Salvation Army — say they do not allow loitering around their premises that allows employers to drive by and solicit employees on the street.
"We do have people who try to hang out (for jobs)," Huddleston said. "We can't let that happen. We want people who are in the shelter to get the work first."
Huddleston encourages her residents to file proper income tax returns and save as much money as possible."We get a lot of people in here who are in earned income brackets," she said. "When they get paid, I encourage them to get a place to live and save money. I am big on people getting to be self-sufficient."
Jim Davis/DNJ FILE photo
Room in the Inn Director
Christine Huddleston says some of her tenants at the
homeless shelter benefit from work as day laborers.