By Tim Vandenack, Truth Staff
tvandenack@etruth.com
GOSHEN -- Denny Peak is fighting.
With the help of some local businessmen, he finagled a roof for himself and four other out-of-work men who otherwise might have faced winter hidden away in tents somewhere. They have permission to stay in the home only until Wednesday, though, so Peak is scrapping to come up with another plan.
"I'm kind of a little disheartened about it," said Peak, who had been living in a car before securing the temporary digs in November. "I'm trying to find another place. I'm desperately trying to find another place."
Meanwhile, the others in the house -- a modest dwelling beside railroad tracks -- consider their options.
Jerry Tyson, let go by an area manufacturer in August and unemployed ever since, will go to a "sleeping room" if need be, a cheap, one-room rental. There he'll stay until his unemployment benefits run out.
"They laugh at you," said Tyson, 47, describing the response when he asks local employment agencies about job opportunities. "It makes you worry."
Another roommate, Tiny, talks of slipping into the woods. That's where Tyson and some of the others in the house used to live and where rent, if you don't get caught, is free.
"We're going to tents," Tiny said.
***
The stumbling economy -- underscored here by the struggles of the recreational vehicle industry -- is impacting most everybody in some way. Unemployment is skyrocketing, hours for others are being cut, home foreclosures are up and social service providers are overwhelmed. Peak and the others in his house, though, seem to have it worse than most, due to a mix of bad luck, perhaps, and a sense of futility brought on by the dire economy.
We at the Elkhart Truth spoke with them last winter, soon after they moved into the Goshen home from their tents and, in Peak's case, his car. We caught up with the group -- single men who seem to have had trouble staying out of the cracks -- seeking a glimpse into how some of the hardest hit weather the rocky times.
"The guys are really upset because we tried," said Peak, the group's unofficial spokesman.
***
It's been hit and miss these past few months.
Peak, who fiddles with his crooked and broken glasses as he talks, said he's had no luck finding a job, though he's distributed his resume "left and right." Out of work since 2007 and foreclosed out of his Elkhart home last July after 14 years, he's kept busy trying to help his roommates and doing volunteer work at his church.
"You're 56 years old. You had open-heart surgery. You have black-out seizures. You have to tell people that," he said. "Would you hire me?"
He pursued a plan to build carts for bicycles, even approached a few banks about a loan for the venture. They would attach to the rear of bikes and be used to haul stuff. So far he's had no takers.
"The banks don't even want to talk to you if you don't have collateral," Peak said.
Tyson, who had worked for a firm that makes rubber-coated sprockets, tries to keep an even keel, despite his bad luck with employment agencies. The temperature inside the house is warm, for one, and the cupboards are full of food donated by Peak's church, Grace Community Church.
"I know five or six who ain't got it this good," he said. Some are already living in tents, apparently, right along the Elkhart River.
Still, it's hardly cheer and good times at the Goshen home.
A few days before, Adam Nix, another roommate, had removed the tents and camping gear from storage that he had used before moving into the house. He unpacked the gear, making sure there weren't any missing parts if he has no other options come Wednesday, the deadline to vacate.
"We got a lot of places out there," says Peak, alluding to the nooks and crannies in the area where a tent can go unnoticed. "They won't know."
"Won't know and they won't care," adds Tyson.
***
A few days remain before Wednesday, though, and Peak pursues leads on houses, anything to keep him and his friends under a rooftop.
"There's a lot of anxiety among the guys," he said. "They don't really want to go out in the tents. We want to become normal again."
As far as Tyson's concerned, though, all bets are off.
"I got no clue what's going to happen," he said. "I don't know if it's going to get worse or get better."