Worker Success Stories

We are often asked:

Where are you located?

Our new home is 748 Mercy St., Mountain View, CA 94041 (cross street is Hope -- how about that?). The phone number remains 650-903-4102. Our job center and business office are located at the Trinity United Methodist Church facility.

How long have you been around?

We have been serving the community since 1996.

Success Stories

Josefina Vailon, 39, Puebla, Mexico

Title of Article | March 20, 2007

I thought that once I stepped onto American soil, I would be a free person. I thought that here was a nation made by immigrants, full of opportunity, full of jobs, that is the dream. People who are born here, even our own kids at times, don’t understand the struggle to make life better for yourself and your family. They don’t understand what extreme poverty is, not to have shoes to wear, not to be able to go to school, not to even have food to eat. They don’t see the desperation people feel who have absolutely nothing.

Before we crossed the border, I spent a month in Tijuana with my children, living out of trashcans. People are hard there; there’s no work. Many day workers are women. We have children to raise, we have families to support, we can’t be in the street, at anyone’s mercy.

There are people who say that we’re thieves, coming here to live on welfare, but it’s not true. We are not criminals. We are here to work. We just want to be recognized for the work we do. I used to work for different companies where the pay was extremely low, and sometimes we had to wait five or six weeks to get paid. Thanks to the Center, we have the opportunity to find work that pays a better salary.

I’ve been in this country for 14 years and I’ve never had the opportunity to take English classes until I came to the Center. All of us want to learn. At the Center, when we’re not working, we’re studying and learning. Now, one of my children is graduating from high school and one is attending university. They are living the opportunity that coming here has given to them. I’m very grateful for that. All we want is an opportunity.

Back to Top