The Coronavirus Pandemic thrust hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers off the job and into the unemployment line. Now, one year since the pandemic began, many are still struggling to get their unemployment benefits or find their next job. The "Faces of Unemployment" project is our commitment to you to tell the stories of troubles and success.
LA PORTE — Kristy Zarantonello found herself without a job just as pandemic restrictions were ramping up.
“I was working at an air compressor company in Michigan City, and I had been there since September 2018. Since I was one of the last ones that was hired when the pandemic hit, when they let 20 people go, I was one of those people who they were unable to keep her employed,” said Zarontonello.
It took 10 weeks to get unemployment going and, in the meantime, the single mother leaned on savings to get by.
“It just made me realize that I just did not want to ever find myself in that situation,” said Zarontonello.
After doing a few interviews she started thinking about what brought her fulfillment. It took some planning and saving, but “A Touch of OCD" house cleaning LLC. was born in November.
“Being a cleaning company, you're in a competitive industry, you know there's a lot of different cleaning companies out there, so I wanted to do something a little bit different. And so, I decided that my different was going to be available 24/7,” said Zarontonello.
