Fear And Hopelessness As Five Families Prepare To Lose Unemployment Benefits [View all]

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http://www.buzzfeed.com/jacobfischler/fear-and-hopelessness-as-five-families-prepare-to-lose-unemp


Job seekers enter a job fair at a new Target retail store on Aug. 15, 2013, in San Francisco. Hundreds of job seekers applied for jobs during a job fair to staff a new Target city store. Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

About 1.3 million long-term unemployed Americans will stop receiving federal unemployment benefits beginning Saturday, the consequence over a debate in Washington about the size and role of government.

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Bruce and Celeste Leibowitz — Brooklyn, N.Y.

In 2009, Bruce Leibowitz was laid off from his job at the National Envelope Corporation in Long Island City, N.Y. Since then he’s struggled to find long-term employment. He’s held several odd jobs since, but none have lasted. He’s been on unemployment three of the last five years, supported in part by his wife, Celeste, who works as a freelance fundraiser.

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Randy Russo — Chicago, Ill.

Randy Russo, 50, lost his job as a design project manager in March. Dipping into his savings, Russo attends web design classes under the Work Investment Act (WIA), trying to improve his employment odds. He’s worked in the graphics field for the last 35 years, but the job requirements have changed since he started. It took four months just to be approved for the WIA program and it’ll take another several months to complete. Until then, he’s looked for part-time work that’s been tough to come by.

Kerstin Foster — Naugatuck, Conn.

Kerstin Foster, 45, expects to start work as an office administrator for a civil engineering company on Feb. 1, though she says that date can be pushed back at any time. Her last contract ended in January, and she hasn’t found work since. She has lived off emergency unemployment benefits and the $120 per week she gets in child support for her 13-year-old son; she also supports her 23-year-old son, who lives with her and has also been unable to find work.