News & Events

August

2008

We Can Fix It! Center Helps Launch New Worker-Owned Cooperative
Following the success of the Si Se Puede! / We Can Do It! Women's Cooperative, Center for Family Life has helped launch a second worker-owned cooperative business, We Can Fix It!, providing home improvement and repair services. Open for business as of May 2008, We Can Fix It! has 12 founding members - 4 women and 8 men - with experience in construction and related trades such as carpentry and plumbing. As a cooperative business, We Can Fix It! offers living wage jobs for immigrant workers in a safe and healthy environment, as well as social supports and educational opportunities for its members. We Can Fix It! members can participate in specialized training on topics such as how to run a small business, on-the-job safety, environmental concerns, and New York City building regulations. Members meet on a monthly basis for on-going training and support, including peer to peer trainings for appropriate job skill sets.
Services offered by We Can Fix It! include carpentry (building bookcases, fixing cabinets, etc.), plumbing (fixing leaky faucets, clearing stopped up drains, etc.), and all types of general "handyman" work. But unlike other "handyman" services, when you hire a member of We Can Fix It! to do a job in your home, 100% of the fee goes to the person who does the work. "The difference for me of being in a Coop versus a regular business is that in a Coop I can be my own boss and have control over my own work," explains Paulina, a We Can Fix It member. "We also have the space to give our opinions, instead of just taking orders from one person. We also have the opportunity to meet new people and learn a lot from each other within the group. This has help me grow professionally and personally."	To contact We Can Fix It! for an estimate or more information, please visit www.wecanfixit.coop or call (917) 463-0403. Through our Employment Services, Center for Family Life provides training and support for We Can Fix It! and helps members like Paulina take advantage of other Center programs, like our ESL classes. To learn more about our Employment Services, please click here.


Archive of past News & Events
June 2008: "From the Stoops of Sunset" celebrates 25th anniversary of "Life Lines" Community Arts Project January 2008: FAIR WORK, a workshop on the challenges faced by immigrant workers and the potential of worker-owned cooperatives businesses features organizers and advocates from throughout New York City. June 2007: CFL Annual Awards ceremony honors Linda Gibbs, New York City Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, and Gail B. Nayowith, Executive Director of Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York March 2007: Youth Employment Program participants advocate for summer jobs in Albany; Rise On youth create mural for CFL Employment Office December 2006: Community Service Program helps families celebrate Thanksgiving October 2006: "Life Lines" youth perform at waterfront festival August 2006: Sunset Park Coalition for New Immigrants hosts 2nd Annual Sister Mary Geraldine Symposium on Immigration Reform June 2006: CFL Annual Awards ceremony honors Joseph T. McLaughlin and Kathryn S. Wylde