Getting a job was usually easy for Yvette Clark, but keeping it was another story. The problem was her challenged background. She has prior theft convictions that kept her from maintaining employment.
“Once they did a background check, the job was over,” Clark said. Fed up with not being able to hold down a job, Clark turned to a program that a relative recommended. “My cousin was in Cleanslate and she told me that I should check it out and sign up,” the 52- year-old mother of two said.
Cleanslate, a non-profit organization that employs individuals with troubled pasts to clean streets and vacant lots in various neighborhoods throughout the city, began three years ago with private corporate funds. It started on the South Side in the Auburn- Gresham neighborhood with a crew of 10 interns and a staff of one.
Since then the program has expanded operations to nine other communities and now boasts a crew of about 60 interns and a staff of 16. The operation stays afloat with grants from foundations and private donors.
The cleaning service contracts its business to a variety of entities throughout the city, including the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development and the Illinois Medical District. “Our mission is to provide a quality, transitional job to individuals that have significant obstacles in finding employment. But, what makes us unique is that our people stay with us until they find permanent employment,” said John Rush, managing director of Cleanslate.
Rush said all people who enter the program are classified as interns. They make minimum wage, $7.50 per hour, with the option to add on health benefits. The most important perk of the program is that the “internship” does not expire, and they do more than just clean the streets. Interns perform a selection of external cleaning services, such as landscaping and snow removal. Soon, power washing will be added to the array or opportunities.
“We don’t tell them they have four months and then they just get a certificate of completion and we send them on their way. They must commit to the program and then we will find them a job in the private sector,” Rush said.
Cleanslate aims to place the interns in entrylevel career jobs where there is an option for advancement and only targets employers who will provide that, he said, adding that the average starting wage for those who got permanent employment after interning with the program was $10.50 per hour. Clark has been with the program for about two years, but took a different route to obtaining permanent employment.
Instead of getting a job in the private sector, she was promoted from intern to staff member with Cleanslate. She was hired full-time as a supervisor, managing multiple crews on the South Side. “Getting involved with Cleanslate was a lifesaver. There were many times I wanted to give up because the program is very strict, but I knew I had to hang in there.
If I did it, I know others can too. There is nothing like getting a second chance to prove that you can do something right,” Clark said.
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