FAYETTEVILLE — When Sherry Rodriguez talks about job creation, she’s not particular about the type of work.
“Nobody’s getting rid of even the ickiest jobs. There’s nothing anywhere,” she said Thursday.
Rodriguez isn’t a stock broker, developer or lawyer downsized by the recession. She’s a housekeeper by trade, unemployed because of economics, and homeless for lack of money.
“They say it’ll take 18 months or more to get better, but right now, it’s just not there,” she said.
Even sporadic work dried up around last Christmas, she said.
She’s not alone, and the economy has been a major factor, said Jon Woodward, director of Seven Hills Homeless Center.
“I could have told you the slowdown was coming to Northwest Arkansas in about August of ‘08, and there’s no sign of improvement yet,” Woodward said. “The downturn in the construction industry alone accounts for probably a third of the males we’re serving.”
The recession has also brought more single parents and more young people in need of services, Woodward said.
“These are people who never thought they would end up homeless, but when you lose two jobs at once, it can happen quickly,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is get them some help and get them back on their feet before homelessness becomes the norm for them.”
While Rodriguez and others in similar circumstances spent Christmas Eve gathered at Seven Hills, the holiday came a little early for one man, who was bundled into a taxi to reunite with his family. Shelter workers fought international red tape to send the man home to spend the holiday season with family members for the first time in years — in Australia.