In case you missed my last piece, I’m posting a new series as part of the Where’s the Work? initiative that’s focused on getting past the statistics that dominate coverage of the unemployment crisis and putting our attention back where it needs to be–on the real Rhode Islanders facing real challenges as they try to weather this Great Recession.
Our second story comes from Richard, who lives in the West End neighborhood of Providence.
Richard Herranen has been working in human services for more than 20 years, most recently at the Urban League of Rhode Island, where he did HIV prevention programming. Richard, who has a master’s degree and is credentialed and licensed in substance abuse treatment, loved his job. And he was good at it. But when funding from the Center for Disease Control dried up, he found himself unemployed at the age of 69.
After losing his job, Richard underwent some serious health problems and spent a difficult year recovering. But now he’s healthy again, and has been looking for work for the past thirteen months. He’s applied for every position he could find in his old fields, but so far has had little success. “I’ve had a few interviews,” he says, “but nothing ever materialized. That’s the most frustrating part. You go in for the interview, and then you never hear a word.”
Richard is convinced it’s a question of age. “I’ve gotten roundabout feedback from colleagues. ‘He’s just too old,’ they say. I just turned 71.” But Richard is physically, mentally, and intellectually fit. And he loves working. “I’m not ready to quit working. Even if my wife and I were well enough off that we could afford to retire, I would still want to work. I’m younger than Jerry Brown. I’m about the same age as Bob Dylan and Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney. And they’re all very active and doing well at their respective professions.” He understands that some agencies are reluctant to hire older people because they do not want to invest in training for an employee who might be retiring soon. But Richard already knows the field very well. “The positions I’ve interviewed for, I’d hardly require any training at all.”
Richard has also looked at part-time work. “Even the somewhat lower-paying jobs are attractive,” he says. “I’ve applied to work at Starbucks. Whole Foods. To work on the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard. I even thought about joining the Peace Corps, but I couldn’t leave my wife Barbara and our black lab Sophie.”
For now, Richard is committed to continuing the search. He got his last unemployment check two weeks ago, so he now has no income but Social Security. “We had money invested, but like most people we took a hell of a big hit when the recession started. Still taking a big hit.” He shakes his head. “I never thought it’d be this difficult to find work.”
Where’s the Work? is an initiative of the Ocean State Action Fund. You can share your own unemployment story or ask your elected officials to listen to Rhode Island’s unemployed workers by clicking here.
These are the people I speak with every day. Believe me, they are still calling the Unemployment Insurance Call Center and, quite often, I have to tell them that they have no further benefits available. For those that do still have benefits, we can offer fewer and fewer services to those who have waited longer and longer to get a hold of someone to whom they are reaching out for help.
Just wait until the end of the month. The call center reps will lose two thirds of their staff, but that’s a different blod post entirely.
The age issue is very real. The education issue is also very real. I have a bachelor’s degree and a wide variety of professional experience ranging from public sector financial determinations of benefits and customer service representation to management to non-profit administration and arts marketing.
I am young, in my prime earning years, and about to be laid off from the DLT. I have a five month old and a wife who are about to lose insurance coverage as well as income. My plan was to utilize the very sensible tuition waiver program offered by the State to pursue a Masters Degree in Public Administratuion. I was told, however, that I could not use a tuition waiver for a Masters Degree. only a bachelors degree.
For those unfamiliar with a State Tuition Waiver, the program states anyone collecting Unemployment Insurance can show proof to the Admissions Office of any state School (URI, RIC, CCRI) and, provided there are seats available in the class, take the course free of charge.
The jobs I am applying for prefer a Masters Degree.
The gentleman to whom you refer in the above article has the credentials, but age is an obstacle. I have the age as an advantage, but lack the credentials.
Those who have both levels of credentials are the ones getting the jobs, I suppose, but are so saddled with student loan debt that they cannot contribute the earnings to the bottlenecked economy.
God bless the trust fund children. They are the only ones who seem to have a real chance at the “American Dream”.
Hey Jonathan, we met once in June, and I’ve really loved your posts–any chance you’d be interested in meeting up sometime soon to talk more about all this? aaron.regunberg@gmail.com