Chapter 8 - THE NONPROFIT HE CALLED A HOBBY
My nonprofit changed too.
The scandal produced attention.
I hated that.
Donations doubled.
I hated that less.
But I refused to make Rosa the face of fundraising.
No photograph.
No “maid saved by lawyer fiancée.”
No exploitation disguised as awareness.
Instead, we built a new program:
The Open Door Project.
Emergency legal triage for household employees, caregivers, nannies, cleaners, and personal assistants working for wealthy or powerful individuals.
Why household work?
Because the workplace is someone else’s private home.
Traditional HR structures often do not exist.
Evidence is harder.
Isolation easier.
Threats more personal.
We built partnerships with immigration counsel, domestic violence organizations, wage-and-hour lawyers, medical providers, and emergency housing.
Naomi joined the advisory board.
She reminded me monthly not to interfere with cases.
I reminded her monthly she was annoying.
Healthy.
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One year after Adrian’s termination, the Open Door Project helped 214 workers.
Not all dramatic.
A nanny denied wages.
A caregiver whose passport had been held.
A cleaner fired after refusing unsafe chemicals.
A personal assistant pressured into falsifying expenses.
Small abuses.
Important.
Adrian had called the work impractical.
Now corporations began funding it because boards realized executive misconduct in private households could become governance risk.
I found that darkly funny.
Morality had finally acquired a compliance budget.
Fine.
Take the money.
May you like
Do useful things.
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