Four hours of free labor available to vulnerable West County residents
CLG Assist is a free program offered through Graton Day Labor Center to low-income seniors, single mothers and the disabled
CLG Assist is a new community program funded through a $60,000 grant from the county’s Tourism Impact Fund that will provide work for underemployed laborers and four hours of free labor, including yard work or housecleaning, to vulnerable West County residents.
The grant was awarded to the Graton Day Labor Center (Centro Laboral de Graton (CLG)) through 5th District Supervisor Lynda Hopkins’ office.
“This investment is about making everyday life more manageable for people who are stretched thin, while offering meaningful, paid work that keeps resources circulating locally and strengthens community stability,” Hopkins said.
The funding for the grant comes from the Sonoma County TOT Tax, a tax on accommodations at lodging and camping facilities in unincorporated areas of the county. These funds are awarded as grants to not-for-profit organizations that create projects to improve their community.
Karym Sanchez, CLG’s community organizer, explained how the program came about.
“Supervisor Hopkins came to the center to do some listening to workers about what some of the needs are right now, and the number one thing that workers keep talking about is they need jobs,” he said. “We need to figure out a way to generate jobs.”
“After this listening session, that very much became part of the conversation: how do we create more jobs and also help people in the district?” he said. “In conversation with Hopkins office and our staff, we designed this program where West County residents from vulnerable populations—elders, single parents, folks that live with disabilities—can receive a four-hour work order for either general yard cleanup or house cleaning inside, and we pay the worker through this grant.”
The program is only available to residents in west county (District 5).
“There is a limitation of one per household, so one per address,” Sanchez said.
The program is designed for people who can’t normally afford to hire help, and Sanchez hopes people will respect that.
“We’re using the honor system,” he said. “We want this to be used for underserved populations, and at the same time, we need jobs for the workers who are here, so we’re trying to strike a balance with that.”
The hourly rates at CLG range from $25 to $40. Sanchez knows this can be a bit steep for many low-income people, who nonetheless may need help on a continuing basis.
“Our hope is to get people in the door to hire a worker,” he said. “Maybe our rates that we’ve set here are a little bit out of their price range, but they could still form a relationship with a day laborer or a domestic worker. We’re hoping that it becomes a long-term relationship and if there is more work to do and people want to negotiate with the worker directly, beyond going through the labor center, then that’s between them.”
If you are interested in this program, call the Graton Day Labor Center at 707-829-1864, or scan the barcode in the flyer below to start the process. The Graton Day Labor Center is open Monday through Friday, from 7 am to 3 pm. Learn more at https://gratondaylaborcenter.org.
We've used CLG many, many times over the years. I cannot recommend them highly enough. Workers are skilled, enthusiastic and very hard working. Thank you Supervisor Hopkins and Karym Sanchez for a brilliant and compassionate plan to help our entire community.