Texas non-profit ‘Junk Hustlers’ is giving jobs to people in need

DALLAS – With the current job market having a seemingly hopeless outlook, being able to provide is tough on everyone. For those facing homelessness, it’s even tougher to survive.

Enter ‘Junk Hustlers’: A non-profit company that offers meaningful employment for those who have fallen on hard times. Junk Hustlers was launched by Dallas-based Cornbread Hustle, a staffing agency that offers second chances.

“People coming out of prison or people in recovery or people in transition find meaningful employment,” said Junk Hustlers founder Cheri Garcia.

Michael Sullick, 45, knows firsthand what it’s like to battle homelessness. Sullick is an army veteran who only recently found a home through transitional housing.

“I call myself a victim of circumstance. Back when Covid hit my mom was one of the first Covid casualties and unbeknownst to me she had a reverse mortgage on the house for a very large sum of money that I could not pay off, so I had to sell the house in order to pay off the reverse mortgage.”

Sullick got a job with Junk Hustlers making $17 an hour, more than double the minimum wage. It’s allowed him to afford the $150 a month rent the transitional housing requires.

Since 2016, Junk Hustlers has helped more than 2,500 people find employment, according to Garcia.

Sullick believes the job will be able to change the course of his life for the better in the long run.

“It’s awesome. I wake up every day and I have a purpose now. Where is before it was just (sighs) and I hated life.”