Thousands of Maine men are missing from the workforce, and no one really knows why [View all]

Jon Hunt, or Twitch as he’s known, isn’t much of a talker. He isn’t much of anything, as he sees it.

That’s because, at 26, Twitch has never held an official job. He’s worked as a roofer, a blueberry raker and a construction worker — “backbreaking shit,” he said — but always under the table.

When he’s not working for cash, he goes to the Bangor Public Library to chat with friends on Facebook Messenger using the free wifi; smokes marijuana at friends’ apartments; and listens to music — usually rap on his earmuff-sized headphones.

In addition to occasional pocket change gleaned from odd jobs, Twitch lives off a monthly $750 disability check he gets for his mild schizophrenia, which he says he was diagnosed with around 2011.

Read more: http://bangordailynews.com/2017/04/11/mainefocus/thousands-of-maine-men-are-missing-from-the-workforce-and-no-one-really-knows-why/?ref=The%20PointBox