Family had to get help for first time

The toughest moment in Jose Hidalgo's life came just weeks ago, when the proud 47-year-old steelworker had to ask for help to feed his family.

"I have always supported my kids," the father of four young children said, his voice quavering. "I had to tuck my tail between my legs."

Months after he was laid off from the job he had held for nearly two years, Hidalgo, another casualty of the recession, still seems shell-shocked.

He hasn't been out of work since high school, and was last making $24 an hour cutting metal for a company that supplies titanium metal products worldwide.

Now, his family is subsisting on $400 a week in unemployment benefits, food stamps and rapidly diminishing hope.

They've moved out of their comfortable four-bedroom rental home into a cramped two-bedroom apartment at half the cost. They've canceled their cable TV and their long-distance phone plan, and stopped going out to eat. They recently started watering down the children's orange juice to make it last longer.

Hidalgo's wife, Claudia Torres, who stays at home to care for 8-year-old Marco, 2-year-old Leandro and 4-year-old twins Marisela and Maria de Jesus, can't even bring herself to talk about the family's recent troubles.

"I don't know what to say," Torres, 33, said, her face twisting with emotion. "It's hard on all of us."

The family's story represents thousands of others in Las Vegas, where unemployment hit 13.9 percent in September, with the building sector leading the way in job loss. Contractors have shed 50,000 positions since the recession began in December 2007.

Most of the families who need help as a result have never had to seek assistance before, because "they have always worked and supported themselves and their families," said Audrey Arnold, executive director of the United Labor Agency of Nevada.

The nonprofit social service agency helps union members who have suffered job loss or major illness.

"They've been fortunate finding jobs in the past," Arnold said. "Hotels have been hiring. Construction has been great."

Now, though, "they know of nothing coming up," she said. "They don't hear any good stories. They are devastated, and don't know where they're going to turn. They don't even know how to apply for unemployment."

The agency has seen the number of people seeking help at their offices double in the past couple of years as unemployment soared, Arnold said.

Staffers help with applications for services such as unemployment benefits and food stamps, and offer some rental assistance and access to a food pantry.

"We tell them it's OK to ask for help," Arnold said. "There are so many people out there suffering through no fault of their own."

The fact that his family isn't alone in its struggles is cold comfort to Hidalgo, who always believed hard work and a positive attitude was enough for him to hold a job.

Before moving to Southern Nevada, Hidalgo worked for 20 years in a Texas steel mill. He was making $13 an hour when he quit after hearing wages in Nevada were much higher. It took only a few weeks for him to land the new job, which he thought was secure and which paid nearly twice as much.

Even a couple of rounds of layoffs at his new workplace didn't worry him much; Hidalgo had never missed a day of work and felt his bosses were happy with his performance.

"I thought that was it for the layoffs. Then, one week, I was on the list."

Hidalgo has been attending every job fair that comes along, and spends hours each week searching listings at Nevada JobConnect. He has applied for any available position that pays at least as much as unemployment and for which he believes he qualifies, including delivery driver, cable installer, maintenance worker and janitor.

He has had no luck.

"The economy beat up my positive thinking," he said.

At least Hidalgo doesn't have to worry about losing his unemployment benefits any time soon. The recession spurred several extensions in benefits, and people in Nevada can now receive them for up to 99 weeks. Hidalgo has only been drawing unemployment for eight weeks.

That doesn't mean he hasn't considered the possibility that he won't find a job by the time his benefits run out. If it gets close to that point, Hidalgo said he is willing to work two minimum wage jobs or move out of state for work.

And Hidalgo has a big extended family in Texas that would take him, Claudia and the kids in if they were desperate.

"We won't be homeless," he said.

He hopes it doesn't come to that, though, because "Nevada is home."

In the meantime, Hidalgo struggles to not be defeated by his troubles.

His time without work hasn't been all bad. He has taken advantage of his free time to finally secure his U.S. citizenship after 40 years in the country. He also is working toward earning his GED high school diploma.

"Maybe this all happened for a reason," his wife said. "It's pushing him to go back to school."

Hidalgo is trying to find joy in the simple things that don't cost anything. For one thing, he gets to spend a lot more time with his kids, who still make him smile.

They can't afford to eat out or go to the movies, so the family takes outings to their local park, where one recent Sunday afternoon Hidalgo spotted a patch of clover.

"I told the kids if they find a four-leaf clover it's good luck," he said. "I've been looking for one since I was a kid."

Eight-year-old Marco wound up discovering one within 10 minutes, Hidalgo said. "Maybe it'll bring us a little luck."

Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285.