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Young Immigrants Suffer for Parents’ Decision

03/25/2012

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Jiovanna Campbell came to this country at age 3 illegally. When Jiovanna was 9, there was a death in the family.  Her parents decided to take their uncle’s body back to Mexico for burial.  After spending several months back in Mexico, the family once again returned to the Bay Area illegally. Jiovanna finished high school, enrolled in college and married her high school sweetheart, a U.S. Citizen.  At this point, she no longer wanted to have “illegal status” and took the advice of a notary public to return to Mexico to request legal status as the “wife of a US citizen.  However, soon after arriving in Ciudad Juarez, she discovered that her childhood trip to Mexico meant that she could not return to the U.S. under current immigration laws. 

The 1996 Immigration Law does not allow individuals to leave the country, even for short visits due to death in the family.  Immigration advocates say this is unfair that people are punished for their parents’ poor choices.

It is one thing to get tough on immigrants crossing the border, it another to do so with a 24 year old woman who was brought to this country by her parents at age 3, studied her whole life here and is now married to a U.S. citizen and pregnant.

Marta Perrone is now offering immigration services through an affiliation with L.A. Law Center, P.A. – Lawrence S. Aarons – lawyer and consultant of law. 

If you want to know ways in which you can gain legal status here in the U.S., come join us on April 21st at our offices and meet Lawrence Aarons to discuss immigration issues.  16656 Ventura Blvd. #204 - Encino, CA  91436

Registration for this event is necessary.  Click Here to register

http://www.MartaPerrone.com
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Caring for the Elderly

02/13/2012

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After so many years of working as a domestic agency, many of my clients would request a caregiver for their parents or themselves. When my mother-in-law recently had a stroke, it became a personal matter. Most elderly people that suffer a set-back are first sent to the hospital and must remain there for at least 3 consecutive days to qualify for transfer to a rehab center. It is never pleasant to be in a hospital, but a Rehab center (which in this case was more like a Nursing Home) is worse.  Just walking through the halls, all you see is very old people practically waiting to pass on. Many seem incoherent as they stare into the oblivion.  Between that visual and the smell, I could not imagine my mother-in-law or anyone that I cared about deeply remaining there another day.  I insisted on bringing a qualified caregiver from Los Angeles back East and bringing her home immediately.   

Choosing someone for the job meant finding a woman with the nurturing qualities along with necessary experience to handle this kind of job. It was also very important to find someone with the right personality and kindness to fill the job. Fortunately, among several candidate, I found one that had no problem re-locating.  We flew off together and prepared for mom's arrival with the following list:

1) Organize the home for someone to live/in.  In this case, a 1-bedroom apartment, we had to reconfigure the living space to accommodate a bed and get a television in for her use.  This made me realize how important it is to have 2 bedrooms as you get older, even if you don't need them now, you will later.

2) Put the caregiver on the auto insurance policy as additionally-named insured. Drive with her in the car to be sure she is comfortable and can handle the car easily. Teach her the various routes needed to go to the store, doctor, beauty salon, etc.

3) Place the caregiver on payroll. Not only is this the legal thing to do, but with most long term insurance policies, they will require proof that you have a caregiver in order to distribute funds. 

4) Prepare a list of duties for the job - since my mother-in-law is ambulatory, most of the work involves shopping, cooking, driving, activities and light cleaning. I created a list of what she needed to accomplish daily so that everything would run smoothly. I also made a list of weekly meals.  Elderly people left on their own have a tendency to not eat regularly. One of the many benefits of having a caregiver is that someone is there to ensure that your loved one is eating properly.

5)  Arrange for relief for the caregiver - this meant either finding someone that would work 1 day per week or asking the family members to all contribute their time by visiting one full Sunday per month.  Fortunately, there is enough family to fill this task and all were agreeable to doing so.

After one week of helping the caregiver and my mother-in-law get acclimated, I flew home relieved and so did everyone  knowing that mom was in good hands.

http://www.MartaPerrone.com
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Latinos - Employment Numbers Return to Pre-Recession Levels

02/06/2012

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Latinos make up 15% of the total labor force in the United States.  Their share of selected occupations and industries are 22% in Hotel and Food Services and 17% in Private Service (Home and Health Services).  Many Latinos got slammed by the recession which wiped out about 2 million construction jobs. As the economic recovery improves, Latinos are scoring more gains than most other demographic groups. They are the only demographic group that whose employment numbers have returned to pre-recession levels. The reasons experts say that Latinos are faring better than other groups is thaty are willing to take low-wage, temporary jobs. They believe that part time work can lead to full time employment - which in many cases in the private service industry is true. They also tend to be more mobile and willing to do what it takes to get the job, even if it means moving from one county to another. However, due to the decrease of jobs, less Latinos have moved to the U.S. and more have moved back home. 

Latinos are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population and especially visible in California Texas and Florida as well as Iowa, Nebraska and Ohio.  Not only the economy but also immigration issues have affected the Latino's decision to remain in the U.S.  The administration has increased deportations of undocumented immigrants.  Their biggest concern is "jobs".

My professional development classes are primarily filled with Latino women, and the emphasis is to provide them with the tools they need to prepare themselves as presentable, qualified, trained household professionals. Just ask yourself this one question: "If there are only 10 jobs and 50 applicants, who will be the ones chosen to work?" 

http://www.Martaperrone.com
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A Domestic Worker feels like a "Bottom Feeder"

01/23/2012

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_ In my training a Mom's Best Friend in Austin this weekend, a domestic worker who spoke English very well and is paid highly as a Laundress by a family who has a full staff spoke up and said that as a domestic worker, she feels like a “bottom feeder” on the totem pole of workers.  I was astounded to hear this since she was certainly very professional and apparently was excellent at her work. But it showed me immediately the low self-esteem many of these domestics feel inside.  I walked to the board and drew a triangle and said to her that the bottom of the triangle is the widest and also the part of the triangle that supports the pinnacle. Without the foundation filled with competent workers to support the pinnacle, there is no triangle. She smiled and thanked me telling me that she never had seen things like this before.

Domestic workers can feel their value through education and training. There is no reason for anyone NOT to be proud of the work they do.  A hard day of work is valuable to anyone and something that should not be diminished in any way. It isn’t like the old days when we had the likes of Downtown Abby where domestics lived a life devoid of excitement and had no life for they were forced to live vicariously through their principals – social and sexual lives while they lived in sparsely decorated unheated rooms that were sparsely decorated for fear that having anything more than this would spoil them.

My goal is to raise the bar by training every domestic worker in all areas required so that they have a good understanding of what it is to be a professional. One that can walk with their head up high and when asked what they do, respond with “I am a professional housekeeper.” 

http://www.martaperrone.com

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