Isaac Cleanup Provides Jobs For Chicago Residents
EVANSTON, Ill. (CBS) -- Recovery efforts for Hurricane Isaac on the Gulf Coast have created some job opportunities for residents of Chicagoland.
For the last few days, Evanston resident Nick Chastang has been working on the Westin Hotel in downtown New Orleans.
"Demolition work; pulling drywall off the wall" is his responsibility, he says.
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For Chastang, it's the perfect job to gain experience, since he wants to work in construction management -- but was having a hard time finding a job here at home.
"A lot of people were saying that they really wasn't hiring right now," he said.
Chastang is with a group of 84 young adults from Evanston and Chicago's South Side, working on hurricane clean-up in Louisiana and Florida.
They were hired by a former Evanston resident, who now works with a company that sends workers into disaster zones.
"Some of them may not have the requisite skills necessary to work a full-time position in a corporate environment, and some of them may have records as well," said Kim Jenkins of Evanston's Youth and Young Adult Services Division.
Jenkins the opportunity provides the workers, many of whom are unemployed and lack many job skills, a chance to earn an income and job skills that can be used in the future.
