NPR : Urban Poor Cope with Help from Informal Economy

NPR : Urban Poor Cope with Help from Informal Economy

Sharelle, 43, lives in subsidized housing in Harlem. She hasn't had a job in years – but she works all the time. She runs an after-school day care in her apartment, where children are laughing and playing cards. She also looks after an elderly woman in her Harlem neighborhood twice a week.

"I do the housekeeping, clean her bedroom, do the kitchen," said Sharelle, who didn't want her last name aired.

Sometimes she gets a few extra dollars helping her neighbors fill out state tax forms or babysitting. If Sharelle reported this income to the government her rent would go up, so almost all the work she does is under the table.

"Miss Hinxson is off the books, their mother is off the books, the little girl Courtney that I went to pick up is off the books," she said. MORE