Nonprofit helps create longevity, income for migrants in Denver

A nonprofit is helping create longevity and income for migrants in Denver.

Edgewater Collective launched a co-op in 2022 for the immigrant community. It not only helps generate income, but also contributes to the economy.

Starting a new business can be difficult for anyone, but it might be a bit more difficult when you're new to the country and have no experience. For that reason nonprofits like Edgewater Collective are stepping up.

Deisy Berbesi never thought her car trunk would be packed with cleaning supplies.

"Sometimes doing this makes me feel depressed because it's not what I imagined for my life," Berbesi said in Spanish.

She now cleans offices and people's homes for a living.

"I had a career, and I wanted something else for me, but at least I have work now," Berbesi said.

She and her family left Venezuela due to corruption. Two years later, she's now taking classes to become an entrepreneur.

By the fall, Berbesi will be a business owner of the Edgewater Cleaning Cooperative.

Joel Newton, the executive director and founder of the nonprofit Edgewater Collective, says the goal is to help people like Berbesi.

"Mainly we look at our immigrant communities in terms of needs and what they need, and we are really trying to look at it as, 'What do they bring to the table?'" Newton said.

Newton said the program was born out of necessity to help these families.

"We started to hear stories about wage theft, mainly among people cleaning houses, that they would do the work, and they wouldn't get paid for it," said Newton.

It's something Berbesi has experienced being in a new country and starting over.

"It's tragic that it happens to a lot of us immigrants because sometimes we're very vulnerable, and we don't know better," Berbesi explained.

Since 2022, the Edgewater Collective has helped launched three co-ops.

"We began to realize we really need to set up a structure to help folks get paid what they deserve and help them own their own businesses," Newton said.

That includes Erika Rodarte, part owner and member of the Casitas Pin Pon, a childcare cooperative.

"It's been a long journey for me; I used to take care of kids in my home, and now I've made a business out of it; it's gratifying," Rodarte said.

To help vulnerable communities, earlier this year, Denver City Council passed a bill granting subpoena power to the auditor's office, now allowing them to go after wage theft more aggressively.

However, the nonprofit aims to prevent this issue overall with its program.

"Our goal with the cleaning co-op is that we set systems of accountability to make sure the members of the co-op are paid by their clients, to ensure people get a thriving wage," Newton said.

The nonprofit has partnered with organizations like the Denver Foundation to help fund the cooperatives.