After seeing people stand in long lines outside the Elkhart WorkOne office and talking to his customers who struggle to be able to file online for unemployment benefits, one Goshen businessman is pledging to help.

Duane Fugate, Premier Rental-Purchase general manager, will open his store at 905 W. Pike St. in Goshen from noon to 4 p.m. Sundays — beginning Jan. 18 — and make six computer terminals available to the public to file for unemployment benefits.

“When I keep seeing people outside the WorkOne office out in the cold, at least with our store, they can come inside and be warm and have a computer to use. We want to do what we can to help. A computer, someone to help them navigate the computer if they’re not used to using one and a cup of coffee or hot chocolate,” Fugate told WSBT. “We’ll do this at least through the winter and then see how much more need there is.”

Premier’s been in Goshen about three years and is usually closed on Sundays. His offering to help people is not a business ploy, Fugate said. “First and foremost, this is to help people. That’s what this community’s always been about and that’s what we’re doing — helping.”

Fugate and his other four employees are volunteering their time to rotate staffing the store on Sundays for as long as the store’s computer terminals are needed.

“We live in a hard-working community with people that want to work, but unfortunately with the current condition of our local economy, jobs are few and far between. It’s tough enough to face the reality of being laid off, let alone having to stand in lines, sometimes out in the cold to get your unemployment voucher completed,” Fugate said in a press release.