Javier Marin, a maintenance worker at Saratoga, has been working hard since the age of 14. His outstanding work ethic continues to attract notice at Homes for the Homeless (HFH).
Marin has lived in Queens for 18 years. Born and raised in Colombia, he moved to the United States in his early 30s.
He was a referee for soccer games before moving onto maintenance work at hotels, and, eventually, HFH.
“I like when [my work] has to do with cleaning and maintenance,” Marin said. “At home, I’m very tidy, and I clean a lot.”
“Work, go home, work, sleep,” he laughed. “My daughter says, ‘take it easy, you’re working too much.’”
“But she’s my life,” Marin said of his daughter, who is now 23 and a recent graduate of the New York City Police Academy.
Marin works hard for his family, both at home and at HFH.
“It’s a good place,” said Marin.
He takes pride in what he does to provide a well-kept environment for families to live and HFH staff to work so “people are happy and everyone is okay.”
And Marin is doing just that for the people at Saratoga.
“He’s a hard worker and is always positive and upbeat,” Michael Fahy, Administrator at Saratoga, said of Marin.
In fact, his work ethic recently landed him a promotion from porter to a maintenance position.
As Fahy summed it up, simply put, “Javier is a great guy.”
