As migrants and asylum seekers make their way to upstate New York, some are finding it challenging to find work. But a group of women in the Kingston area have found a way to make income.
The Blooming Queens of Clean spend their days cleaning businesses and homes in the Kingston area. The group is made up of 11 women, all immigrants settling in upstate New York.
Lucia is a founding member.
“It has been great,” Lucia said in Spanish through translation. “Our clients have been telling us that they are very satisfied with the end result.”
Lucia and her mother arrived from Ecuador about a year ago to join her father, who’s been in the U.S. for several years.
What You Need To Know
- The Blooming Queens of Clean, made up of 11 women immigrants in upstate New York, clean businesses and homes in the Kingston area
- Lucia and her mother arrived from Ecuador about a year ago to join her father, who’s been in the U.S. for several years
- Lucia said finding work in the U.S. was tough due to the language barrier, but last spring, her mother heard the Blooming Queens of Clean were forming and the two joined together
- After about five months of training and meetings, the women began taking clients in October, a little more than a month after Lucia’s baby was born, with the help of the Ulster Immigrant Defense Network
“There was little-to-no job opportunities,” Lucia said in Spanish through translation. “The job that I would get would pay little to nothing to be able to sustain myself. So I made the decision to come here so that I could have a better future for me.”
Lucia said finding work in the U.S. was tough due to the language barrier, but last spring, her mother heard the Blooming Queens of Clean were forming and the two joined together.
“At the very beginning, I was not really confident in myself that this business would go through,” Lucia said in Spanish through translation. “But my mother was always there, and she would always tell me that working together with a group of women who had the same vision, who had the same dream, we could make this possible.”
After about five months of training and meetings, and with the help of the Ulster Immigrant Defense Network, the women began taking clients in October, a little more than a month after Lucia’s baby was born.
“I’m very happy to know that I’m with the Blooming Queens of Clean, and that I’ll be able to provide my daughter with a very good education here, and I’ll be able to support my husband for my household with an income,” Lucia said in Spanish through translation.
As she settles in and begins her life in the U.S., Lucia’s goal is to work toward citizenship.
“Don’t give up,” Lucia said in Spanish through translation. “There’s an opportunity for you out there, mothers with babies as well. It’s going to be a bit challenging, but nothing is impossible.”
For more information about the group’s services, visit its website.