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La Porte woman makes clean break after being laid off during pandemic

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LA PORTE — The coronavirus pandemic thrust hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers off the job and into the unemployment line now one year since it began.

After getting laid off, Lindy Garritano decided to reflect. Then she created a vision for a clearer picture for her family and anyone else in search of a fresh start.

"The day before Good Friday last year I was laid off in the first round of layoffs. I was working for an aerospace company and when people stopped flying, they did big layoffs. 400 people were let go and I was in the first round,” said Garritano.

She took some time to focus on family, but she never stopped dreaming.

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"Things are out of your control; there's been so much out of everyone's control this year, but if you see an opportunity and can bet on yourself,” said Garritano

Out of that thought, A Fresh Start Cleaning Servicewas born. Garritano is a veteran, so she launched her business on Veteran's Day.

“In about four months I had 13 clients. Then it was time to make it official and bring people on to help so I could take on more jobs, we are trying to expand on the commercial side. I took on two new commercial clients last month,” said Garritano.

She took great pride in serving her country and says now she's able to be of service to people in search of a fresh start.

“I've got about 23 clients and I have hired 3 people who used to work in the service industry and got hit hard last year so it’s been nice to help fill in their gap of income to help them. We think the fresh start is my fresh start. When we clean for you it's a fresh start for your week or your months,” said Garritano.