Local Residents Share Personal Unemployment Struggle Stories
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
Gidget Doss, a single mother with three daughters, has been unemployed for four months and learned Tuesday her home where she and her daughters have lived for the past 4-1/2 years is being foreclosed on.
Doss, 38, Syracuse, is one example of the many unemployment stories that are hitting close to home in Kosciusko County. She was one of several unemployed people that walked inside the doors of the WorkOne office in Warsaw Tuesday afternoon seeking unemployment assistance.Doss was employed for 7-1/2 years at Monaco Coach Corp., Wakarusa, as a group leader for the molds and fiber glass department. The business closed Sept. 17, and Doss was one of the last employees to go.
Doss, like many others who are now unemployed, never thought she would be in the situation of losing a job and having her home foreclosed on.
"We all make mistakes in life, and it's sad to know it's one of the mistakes you make when you thought four years ago you would never lose your job after being at the job for 3-1/2 years before purchasing a home," Doss said.
She said she thought she was secure and stable by putting her name on the line for a home. Now, she said, she thinks she made the mistake of purchasing the home and not being able to afford house payments.
"When you look into your kids' eyes and they know this was our house for 4-1/2 years, and now we have to leave, it's sad, it's really horrible," Doss said.
Doss said she has been seeking a job, and is taking advantage of a $6,000 scholarship to go back to college to study radiography, but currently does not have a degree.
Doss said she currently receives unemployment benefits and the maximum amount, but it is still not enough to pay bills.
"I found out today my house is getting foreclosed on so I am going home to find another place to live," Doss said.
Although she receives child support and unemployment, she said the state says she makes too much money and doesn't qualify for food stamps, electric or gas assistance, or for her children to be on any insurance program.
Doss turned to WorkOne for unemployment assistance.
Warsaw's WorkOne office is at 715 S. Buffalo St. and is open Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
WorkOne offers Hoosiers job search opportunities, educational and vocational training, and unemployment insurance assistance, according to Marc Lotter, Indiana Department of Workforce Development communications director.
Indiana Department of Workforce Development administers the 90 WorkOne centers across the state. He said WorkOne centers across the state are experiencing increased traffic.
Lotter said no state has been hit harder by the collapse of the RV industry than Indiana. He said the state has doubled the volume of people seeking training, job placement, and unemployment assistance at WorkOne centers statewide. The volume has tripled in the South Bend and Elkhart area due primarily due to the collapse of the RV industry.
A report was released last week by the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics. According to Indiana Department of Workforce Development statistics, Kosciusko County's 11 percent unemployment rate in December accounted for a 41,988 labor force with 37,349 people employed and 4,639 people unemployed.
Anthony Heiman, 52, Warsaw, who has been unemployed for more than a year, said he has gone to WorkOne for a year seeking employment services.
Heiman previously worked at Maple Leaf Farms, Cromwell, and was laid off in December 2007 where he worked for 5-1/2 years. He said he has been trying to look for work since then and he receives unemployment benefits.
He said he has a two-year associate's degree in business, but it has been hard to find a job.
"My job market is really tough because the agriculture industry in this area is not like it would be if I was in Texas or Montana," Heiman said.
He said he has some shipping and receiving background, but it has been hard to find a job in that career field. Heiman said he has had to sacrifice things by cutting back on entertainment, food supplies and purchasing magazines and newspapers.
Toby Young, 37, Warsaw, has been unemployed on and off since June, but will go back to work today. He is married with four children including one in college. Young has worked in New Paris at Turtle Top as a welder on and off for three years.
He said he first was laid off a couple weeks in May and June, and he said he normally gets laid off one week in July and one week in Christmas. He said he had been temporarily laid off for the past two weeks. He was informed he was temporarily laid off due to lack of the company's orders.
Since being laid off for the past two weeks, he has visited the WorkOne office one time each of those weeks and gets on computers and files for unemployment.
