European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 08, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday september 8, 1985 the stars and stripes Page 17 West Virginia hard times for Laid off miners the unemployed Tine up to receive benefits at the unemployment office in Welch w. A. By Eric Newhouse associated press t he unemployment checks stopped coming last  Barker of Williamson w. A. Pulled in$14,800 in the first halt of last year before the mines Laid him off. Then the government paid him $146 a week to tide him Over until he got a new Job. But there was no new Job. Now his unemployment Security benefits have run out. Welfare will give him Only $140 a month in food Stamps. Anyone who says you can live on that is crazy said the Burly Miner his hands clamped anxiously around a cup of Coffee. It will keep you from starving but not much More. If it was t for my dad we could t make it he added. I m 40 years old and my dad still has to help  Barker can t help his own grown children. My boy had to let his Washer and dryer go yesterday because his wife is having a baby he said. Iii were Able to i d have bought it Back Lor him. It hurts not to be Able to help my kids when they re struggling like my dad is helping  Barker and hit Wile Eva May have to separate just to survive. There Are no Good jobs out there Barker said. I m either going to have to take a Job at minimum wage or Well each go our separate ways and move in with our parents until i can get a Job and get us Back on our feet  we can t both move in on my folks explained Eva. I have two Brothers and a brother in Law whose unemployment has totally run out they be been out of work for 2 Viz years and my Mother is totally supporting All three families and trying to help us. That s not uncommon Lor West Virginia which has led the nation in joblessness for nearly three years. Federal figures for june put the state at 12 percent unemployed compared with 7.3 percent for the nation As a whole. Williamson logged in with 16.8 percent jobless Down from 24.1 percent six months before ironically the new United mine workers contract last fall contributed to the problem. Companies tha had stockpiled tons of Coal in Case of a strike Laid off their workers instead. Ralph Halstead of the state department of employment Security estimates the state May have paid $40 million to miners Laid off after the settlement. As far As the state unemployment fund is concerned it was very costly not to have a  he said. Many miners Are still looking for work. A couple of years ago there was no one working in my  said the Rev. John Kibbey pastor of Trinity Assembly in nearby English. Now. About half of them have jobs. In this area it s either the Coal mines welfare or  state figures show that from 1950 to 1970, a similar recession forced 750.000 residents to leave West Virginia to seek work. Although conditions eased in the 70s, Halstead estimated that West Virginia lost up to 90.000 jobs Early this decade. Sometimes All you can do is hit the rond and look for work but everywhere you go. They have men Laid off and no one has the Money to hire you said Leonard Mullins of Logan where unemployment runs 19.1 percent. Mullins was Laid off in 1983 after More than 14 years in the mines. Mullins worries about medical Bills. My baby was sick last night and i had to spend $40 on Medicine this morning he said. And that really Hurt. Sometimes you can ignore it but you hate to see a sick baby  frequently communities pitch in. The ump food Relief fund provides food to about 200 miners families around Logan once a month and Kibbey s Church has mounted a similar project called operation Blessing. Bui the stresses of deprivation and of idleness Lake their toll. I stay Busy but my wife sits in a lot and that s  said Charles Clark who had worked in the mines for 12 years before he lost his Job in i982. Iii had to sit at Home like that i d probably have gone off the deep end. And i know it s caused a lot of divorces he said. These people men and women both have time on their hands and drink and run around a lot. And i m sure that s  although there Are no firm figures mental health personnel say their caseload came close to doubling due to unemployment. In 1982-83. When we had the highest unemployment rates we and increases in alcoholism marital problems and spouse and child abuse said sue Hatfield director of the mental health censer in Welch where joblessness was nearly 40 percent six months ago. Counselor Janet Davis said some had resorted to stealing. They said their kids were hungry and they were desperate she said. Sometimes i want to take a picture of Welch and show it to the rest of the country Davis added. And i want to say this is West Virginia and we re hungry too and what about us " huge inventories of stockpiled Coal led companies to Lay off workers