Detroit native overcomes homelessness, launches business helping employ thousands
(CBS DETROIT) - Do you ever leave your trash behind after watching a game at Ford Field? By doing so, you're helping a local business stay in business.
"These are hometown stadiums," Mario Kelly said. "My goal is to help anyone get employed."
Kelly, a Detroit native, is the founder and owner of a temp agency tasked with keeping venues like Ford Field, Little Caesars Arena, and Comerica Park clean.
Believe 313 Staffing employees thousands of Detroiters with jobs while keeping some of the city's most revered establishments in tip-top shape.
"I love it," Kelly said.
And although the Lions didn't have home-field advantage Sunday, Ford Field was still rockin' with excited fans. The stadium hosted a watch party, and Kelly's crew rolled in to clean as everyone else left the stadium after a disappointing end to the Lion's historic postseason run.
"There are four levels to cleaning a stadium," Kelly said.
"The first level is called the picking. That's where you want to put someone in every row on both sides of the stadium, and then they come and meet. The second part is the trash pickup. Then you have a trash man who's going around the whole arena, [and] the last part is [people cleaning with mops]."
A big job, allowing Kelly to staff a big team, but what makes Kelly's story even more remarkable is that he experienced homelessness not long ago.
"I was homeless for about four to five months," Kelly said. "I was living in my van."
Defying odds while positively impacting Detroit's economy and workforce, Kelly and Believe 313 Staffing and the Lions have something in common, which is why people say never underestimate the underdog.
