LAGUNA BEACH

The City Council allocated $15,000 this month to help fund the Day Worker Center, which coordinates the employment of unskilled day workers.

David Peck, chairman of the Cross Cultural Council, said before the center opened, laborers soliciting work on street corners were at risk of getting hit by cars.

The site costs $3,000 a month to pay two full-time employees who act as translators to coordinate the hiring.

The center opens at 6 a.m. Monday through Saturday. Typically, about 80 laborers gather at the site.

Most of the men work six to 10 hours a day, performing labor such as yard work, cleaning garages, helping residents move, painting, roofing and digging ditches.

Women, who usually perform tasks such as housekeeping and baby-sitting, have their day employment prearranged.