Businesses Begin Reopening, Recovery Efforts Grow In Santa Monica

SANTA MONICA, CA — As businesses begin reopening in Santa Monica this week following coronavirus pandemic closures, grassroots efforts continue to rebuild several locations damaged during protests earlier this month.

California Labor Force, a temp work agency based in Sacramento, is also joining the community and working with at least five different businesses so far. They specialize in repairing fire and water damage, along with mold and lead abatement.

"Let’s say a building gets set on fire or there’s damage done, like water damage, flooding, or in this case physical damage to these properties, arson stuff. We go in there and we restore the damage," Joseph Aguilar, California Labor Force's vice president, told Patch.

"We started with Third Street Promenade and the destruction going on there," Aguilar said. "I can't say which buildings because of the businesses and their privacy."

Although he can't get into all the specifics or name companies, Aguilar did explain that there was a lot of work to do between Third Street and Main Street.

In Santa Monica, so far most of the group's work has focused on the downtown area, he told Patch.

"At a 4-story retail location, we had about 50 workers, cleanup technicians restoring the property and bringing it back to code so that they can do the renovation on it," Aguilar said. "So we got to pretty much shell out the whole inside."

The group also arrived to clean and repair businesses and locations throughout LA County, including Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles, near the 110 Freeway.

The crew also has to keep social distancing and wearing masks while they work, he said.

"It’s a lot of physical labor and it’s a very complicated process that we want to make sure everything is done by the book, especially in times like this when we have to social distance," Aguilar said. "Everyone’s got to wear protective equipment and keep a distance."

It's part of the job right now, Aguilar said.

"We’re more about bringing knowledge to the community and showing everyone that we’re here to help you in a time of need like this," Aguilar told Patch. "One of our first jobs here is being able to give back and help clean up a lot of the damage and disaster that a lot of these business owners face. We specialize in bringing peace of mind to our clients and also the surrounding communities."

The group is hiring and continues with other recovery efforts across the state.

"We’re always hiring. There’s not really training required and we always provide training in-house as well," Aguilar told Patch. "We have our instructors that always instruct safety awareness and this is throughout the state as well."

Many business owners don't know what will happen next, he said, but the group can complete recovery projects with time and speed in mind.

"They were feeling the unknown how long their businesses could be closed," Aguilar told Patch.

"We’re really time-conscious to make sure our clients are up and running and also making sure that we don’t miss any loose ends," Aguilar told Patch. "It’s also a great thing about us and our team. We’re really grateful to help provide a service to our communities and show everyone that we’re here to help."

The group works on projects throughout the state and helps communities with their recovery efforts.

"We have offices from Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego," he said. "We’re deeply rooted in these cities to help with recovery and in this particular case Santa Monica.

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