As benefits end, jobless struggle but still hope
Catherine Jun / The Detroit News

Claudine Mitchell ignores the whispers that she's lazy. This spring, she cashed her final unemployment check, joining the thousands in Michigan who have exhausted their unemployment benefits yet have not found a job.

Like Mitchell, by the end of July, 38,000 in the state had exhausted their ability to get government unemployment help. Among them is Greg Spiek, a former head chef who is cooking canned beans and rice to get by.

"I've worked my whole life, you know, and I'm going to be homeless," said Spiek, 40, of Warren.

Mitchell and Spiek are part of a group the state calls "99ers," people who have exhausted the maximum weeks of unemployment benefits they can claim, between 50 and 99 weeks.

Many are scraping for help in unfamiliar places: pantries, public assistance, strapped parents. Among the long-term unemployed, the struggle for them is to stay hopeful.

"After that length of time, a lot of people lose that confidence," said Karen Gutman, employment specialist at Jewish Vocational Services. The Southfield agency offers job coaching, counseling and referrals to the unemployed in Metro Detroit.

Michigan, with a 13.2 percent unemployment rate, has been mired in a recession for years -- one reason why federal legislators have extended benefits to nearly two years. A jobless check in the state averages $309 a week.

Though some critics say it's time to cut off aid, the expanding numbers of 99ers are pleading for help.

A few legislators -- including U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing -- have pledged to seek another extension when Congress returns from its recess next month.

Among the 99ers are Rosemarie and Burnett Ashley of St. Clair Shores, former bank branch managers who have watched their nest egg shrink, as well as Andrea Johnson, a single mother. She seeks solace in church.

"I like to work. I want to work," Johnson said.
Battling medical bills

Claudine Mitchell worked nearly 12 years as a secretary at law firms, until a family illness forced her to leave. When she tried to return to work a few years ago, she found fewer job opportunities. She bounced from one temp job to the next until those, too, dried up.

"I've been told I'm lazy, that I'm living off my mother," said Mitchell, 35. "That's far from the truth."

After cashing her last unemployment check in May, Mitchell ditched her apartment and moved in with her mother in Rochester Hills.

But staying financially afloat is a challenge.
The medical bills have mounted. Her high blood pressure -- a genetic occurrence in her family -- cost her thousands of dollars in doctor and drug bills. And in June, herniated disks from a car accident years ago worsened and forced her into surgery. Her hospital expenses totaled more than $100,000.

"I'm waiting to hear what my insurance is going to cover," an anxious Mitchell said. For now, her mother is paying her medical insurance premiums.

More desperate than ever for work, Mitchell has gone against her doctor's advice and resumed cleaning houses, albeit gingerly, for cash.

"It's not like it was years ago, where you'd get a job and they'd offer you health insurance, let alone a 401(k)," Mitchell said. "Now my main thing is getting a job and making money."
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Jobless Struggle Article