Until late last year, Sandy Stern says she and her husband Ken Skapik had the quintessential nice middle class life.
STERN: The last couple years we both had good years. We were very comfortable. We basically did things we wanted to.
They weren’t rich by any means, but they could afford some nice meals out with friends and a little shopping even while they paid the mortgage and their oldest daughter attended college in Delaware.
Stern had been working as a researcher for a recruiting firm. Then, right before Thanksgiving, she was driving to work and got a call on her cell phone.
STERN: Well, it was basically, don’t bother coming in today, things are really slow, there isn’t any real work for you…
She could read between the lines: it was a layoff.
STERN: It is a little ironic that working as a recruiter, I’m out of a job.
So the family started cutting back on niceties. Then in December, her husband Ken saw his hours reduced. He had been working for a company that helps stores and businesses remodel and change their signs. But as retail softened, so did his work. They scraped by on roughly half an income…until February.
STERN: Really dismal month. Mentally.
Ken Skapik was now totally out of a job. With barely any severance pay, the family was living off unemployment benefits and the savings they built up over the past few years.
(doorbell, dog barking)
When I met up with Sandy Stern at her home in Beachwood this week, things still looked pretty good…on the surface: friendly dog at the door, and a spotless house in a nice neighborhood.
REPORTER: So you have a mortgage, a daughter in college, another about a year away, at what point does this become a real problem?
STERN: Today. I mean, today it’s a real problem. I imagine, if nothing happens with us, by June—July at the latest—we’ll be completely out of money.
As we were talking Stern’s youngest daughter came home. Jessie Skapik is a junior at Beachwood High School and wants to go to college out of state when she graduates. She’s very close to her parents, but she says they had trouble telling her about what was happening to the family’s finances.
JESSIE SKAPIK: My mom waited a few days to tell me about my dad. But I think she was kind of worried telling me at first, and what I’d think about it. But I don’t know, I think I took it pretty good.
With Charlie the dog by her side, Jessie says her mom had to find the right time to break the news.
JESSIE SKAPIK: We just got finished working out together, and we were sitting down, talking about going shopping, and I wanted clothes for the winter, and I wanted all the new stuff, and she kind of easily told me that my dad is not really in a great position with his job and he just got laid off, and she was out of work previously, so it kind of set in a few days later that my parents really aren’t working anymore.
Now, Jessie is the only person in the family with a job. She lifeguards and teaches swimming lessons, and uses that money to pay for things she needs and wants. And she has total confidence in her parents that they’ll find jobs soon.
Her parents are working hard at finding work. Both would settle for some short-term contract positions.
Sandy spends much of her days scouring job sites online, and networking with local organizations. Her husband has been chasing leads around the country.
While I was talking with his wife and daughter in Beachwood, Ken Skapik was on the road.
(phone ringing)
KEN SKAPIK: Ken Skapik.
REPORTER: Hi, Dan Bobkoff at WCPN. How are you?
KEN SKAPIK: Good…
Skapik had been traveling all week looking for work across Ohio, Tennessee, and even Georgia.
REPORTER: So I’ve reached you in Atlanta, is that right?
KEN SKAPIK: That would be correct.
REPORTER: So tell me about this trip you’re going on. I guess you’ve been gone since Monday is it?
KEN SKAPIK: I left Monday morning, and I have a number of different connections and contacts in Atlanta….
He says he’s been trying to put his face in front of people all over. In his line of work, he could manage projects around the country from their home in Ohio.
The family has some rough days, but Ken and Sandy are in this together. They help each other look for work and support each other. Their personalities are complementary. He’s the optimist; she’s the pessimist. But if there aren’t any serious opportunities soon, he says cutting out restaurant meals and shopping won’t be enough.
SKAPIK: You know, is it college or selling the house? I mean moving into a different house. And, we’re not far from that right now.
Even optimistic Ken knows reality is scary right now.
Dan will be tracking the Skapik family as they look for work, go on interviews, and, we all hope, find jobs soon. You can read more about the Skapiks and other out of work couples in Sunday’s Plain Dealer.