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'There’s no choice.' Furloughed man with health problems never received unemployment benefits, so he went back to work

Suffering from high blood pressure, as well as heart and kidney issues, the man said he had to take a “calculated risk.”

CRESTWOOD, Ky. — Marlin Ingram, 54, is back to work and not because he should be, but because he had to be. Suffering from high blood pressure, as well as heart and kidney issues, he is at higher risk of contracting COVID-19.

But when unemployment was a no-show in his bank account, Ingram said he had to take a “calculated risk” returning as the director of training at Openrange Sports.

“There’s no choice,” the firearms instructor said. “My wife going to Walmart twice a week to work, that’s not going to sustain a family of four, and if I’m not receiving unemployment, I’m stuck, what’s the other choice?”

Ingram says he was furloughed March 26 because the shooting range had to scale back staff. With help from the CARES Act, Openrange later could make payroll again and brought Ingram back April 20.

However, there is a gap of more than a month of lost income and the husband and father of two is two months behind on rent.

He needs the benefits to catch up.

When asked if he received his unemployment, would he have stayed away from work longer, Ingram answered “Yes, I would have done that.”

What his employer is doing is minimizing risk with a hand sanitizing station and a requirement that everyone inside wears a mask.

“I’m fortunate at least in the environment that I’m in.”

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RELATED: On Your Side: FOCUS gets more help for the unemployed

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