Gold & Silver Forum - Homeward Rebound: Weathering the Storm With Kin

APRIL 7, 2009
Homeward Rebound: Weathering the Storm With Kin

By KRIS MAHER
Robertsdale, Ala.

Unable to find work in Keosauqua, Iowa, Dustin and Michelle Wellman took their last $200, packed their belongings into a 1999 Dodge Neon and drove 1,000 miles with their four-year-old son back to Robertsdale, Ala., the town where Mr. Wellman grew up.

Mr. Wellman, an unemployed welder, had heard from relatives that a shipbuilding company in nearby Mobile was hiring, and Ms. Wellman, a pharmacy technician, believed she could find work at a hospital or pharmacy.

Those hopes didn't pan out. Today, the couple lives in a trailer on Dustin's mother's property. They borrow an uncle's pickup truck to travel to job interviews, and occasionally get cash from Michelle's father to buy gas.

"I'd rather be home if I'm going to be broke," says Ms. Wellman.

Families around the country are weathering out the recession by hunkering down with relatives and friends. It's not just a lower-income phenomena either. The homeward bound are former white-collar and blue-collar workers who believe they might have a better chance finding work in their hometown because they know more people, who, in turn, know still more people. But with jobs scarce, that doesn't always work, and rumors of jobs are just that. At home, though, they can at least get help with food, shelter and clothing.

"As Americans face tougher economic conditions, we'll likely see more of this," said Jim Toedtman, a vice president with AARP, which analyzed Census data. More adult children are living with their parents -- about 6.2 million in March 2008, the latest figures available -- up from 6.1 million the year before, continuing a gradual upward trend from 2000. The latest number doesn't include the most recent and most intense series of layoffs from the last three months, and is likely to be significantly higher now, says Mr. Toedtman.

The duration of home stays may also increase if the economic downturn persists. Envisioned as short-term layovers, some are turning into long-term engagements. In early 2008, Jeffrey Murray was laid off from a project-management position at Perot Systems, and soon moved with his wife and young daughter into his in-laws house near Portsmouth, N.H.

"We thought we'd be there for maybe six months to get settled on our feet and then start looking for our new home," said Mr. Murray, 38 years old. But in March, he was laid off again from a global insurance company. His daughter is now three, and another child is expected in the next few weeks.

As he watches house prices continue to fall, Mr. Murray said he is glad he didn't rush out to buy a new home. His in-laws have three floors in their spacious house and his family has a separate entrance. "I don't think we really infringe on their privacy," said Mr. Murray, who restacks the woodpile and does other manual chores around the house when he's not job searching or networking. "It's not an ideal situation, but we're fortunate to be able to do this as we ride this out," he said.

Moving back home is not easy for anyone involved and is often chosen as the last resort. Pam Wilson, 37, earned $60,000 as a social worker, and shared a house with her mother, 67, in Kentucky.

After unsuccessfully looking for work, depleting her $25,000 in savings and exhausting her unemployment-insurance benefits, she realized she and her mother couldn't afford to live on their own. So she made the difficult decision for them to move back to Georgia to live with her two sisters. The four women share the house.

Ms. Wilson and her mother share a queen-size bed. Ms. Wilson cooks, and says she sometimes does extra things around the three-bedroom house like making her sisters' bed, or taking out the trash. "You just want to make sure that you're not perceived as some type of burden or freeloader," she said. When company comes over, she feels like she might be in the way and retreats to her room. She knows she is welcome, but can't help feeling ashamed.

In February, Ms. Wilson was hired as a claims examiner, earning a little less than $40,000, for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Decatur, Ga. She would like to buy a house, but isn't sure how long her job will last; her contract is only for 13 months.

Kin is becoming the safety net of last resort in part because overwhelmed social-service agencies are reaching their giving limits. Across the country, waiting lists are mounting for people who need help paying for food, rent and utilities. Agencies are seeing more demand just as the traditional sources of revenues -- individual, foundation and government support -- are cutting back.

"Unlike previous recessions, every major revenue source that social-service providers turn to is in decline," says Scott Allard, associate professor at the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration. "Families, friends and social networks are becoming more important ways that people are coping."

The Wellmans returned to Robertsdale, population 4,800, thinking they would have a better chance finding work there, rather than in largely rural Iowa.

The area had two big employment prospects, but plans are being delayed or canceled. In January, ThyssenKrupp Stainless USA said it was pushing back the start-up at a stainless-steel plant in nearby Mobile, which would employ 900. Last year, the federal government said a $35 billion contract to Northrop Grumman Corp. -- to build Air Force refueling planes that would have created several thousand jobs in Mobile -- would have to be rebid.

"Everybody was waiting for these two companies to save the day," said Deann Servos, who runs the Prodisee Food Pantry operating out of a Methodist Church in nearby Spanish Fort, Ala. Each week, about 95 families receive boxes of food to feed a family of three for a week, up from 50 families in September.

The Wellmans had relied until recently on Prodisee Pantry and local churches for food, including First Baptist Church in Robertsdale, which also gave their son, David, a red-and-white tricycle and toy yellow bulldozer. The Wellmans had given away most of their belongings in Iowa because they didn't have the money to rent a U-Haul, which cost $1 a mile.

For just about every bare necessity in their life, the couple relies on a long list of family and friends. The trailer belonged to Dustin's mother, Susan, and has been furnished with second-hand furniture and damaged floor tiles from Ace Hardware, where his mother works and had her own hours cut to 35 from 40, making $7.50 an hour. Susan Wellman's hen provides an egg most days. Her boyfriend built a small porch for the couple from a shipping pallet discarded by the shipyard. Another friend bought clothes for David.

"It's been a group effort," said Ms. Wellman, who's 52.

The couple reciprocates whenever they can. Dustin changed the oil and cleaned the truck of Michelle's uncle, who lent the couple his white GMC pickup so they could drive to job interviews.

Michelle applied at CVS and Rite Aid pharmacies between their house and Pensacola, Fla., 35 miles to the east. She started a job last Monday at a Nike outlet about 45 minutes away in Foley, Ala., as a seasonal associate earning $8.50 an hour. After paying for groceries, gas and a student loan, she said the family is still struggling.

Dustin, 27, tried to get a job at an agricultural seed company, a Bass Pro Shop, paper factory, gas stations and with the city hauling garbage. Getting work through friends is hard. One friend, an electrician, and another, a plumber, both lost their jobs. "Everybody I know is laid off," said Dustin.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123905105150794313.html