Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2006 | 7:08 a.m.
The family of five lives in a 400-square-foot apartment within a gunshot of the Strip.
The bright lights of the casinos don't reach into the dark recesses of the Harbor Island Apartments at 370 E. Harmon Ave. - a tough neighborhood east of the Aladdin, Paris Las Vegas and Bally's and west of the Hard Rock Hotel. Police have filed almost 100 incident reports in the area during the past two months, including six assaults, nine robberies, a dozen for narcotics, 13 burglaries, 11 stolen cars and 21 family disturbances.
"My two daughters say men will honk horns at them as if they are prostitutes," says 52-year-old Jerold "J.J." Johnigan, who supports his family by shining shoes at the Triple George Bar and Grill.
His girls - Angelica, 16, and Sahara, 17 - sleep on the floor in the cramped living room. Their brother, Zachary, 14, gets the couch. Johnigan and his wife, Sheila, have the bedroom, which isn't much bigger than their bed. The kitchen is so small that cooking for five is almost impossible, and they use the bathroom in shifts as they prepare for school and work.
The Johnigans have called Harbor Island home for three years.
Fearful, the family doesn't go out unless it's necessary - to work, to school, to eat at fast-food joints.
They watch TV, study the Bible and long for the day when they can escape their tiny apartment.
They had high hopes of being able to move soon. They were going to be the beneficiaries of the Newport Pacific Jazz Festival, sponsored by Newport Pacific Records.
But the Johnigans' hopes were dampened when the festival was canceled because of poor ticket sales.
"When we started the festival last year we wanted to do two things - help artists move ahead and help the community," said Margaret White, who, along with her husband, Larry, heads the fledgling Las Vegas record company. "We just didn't have enough ticket sales. The purpose was to help musicians, not hurt them. The last thing on Earth I wanted to do was to not be able to pay the artists I was trying to push ahead."
Larry White said he knew that the shoeshine man and his family needed a little help. White plays piano at Triple George, and Johnigan sometimes sits in on vocals.
"I'm a shoeshining Grammy winner," said Johnigan, who's also a member of the Saints Unified Voices, a Gladys Knight-directed choir of 100, which won a Grammy for best gospel choir.
Before the festival foundered, it joined forces with Housing for Nevada, a nonprofit organization, to help the Johnigans buy a home. Housing for Nevada will provide $18,000 to be used for a down payment, and another $2,000 still must be raised, Margaret White said.
They have set up an account to accept donations for the Johnigans at Citigroup/Citibank. "Instead of exchanging gifts with co-workers this Christmas, we're encouraging everyone at my office to donate to J.J. and his family," said White, who works at the Cheyenne branch of Countrywide Home Loans.
John Smith, head of Housing for Nevada, says his organization works with real estate agencies and lenders to help first-time home buyers who qualify under Housing and Urban Development income standards - by making less than 80 percent of the area's median income. Those who qualify for the $20,000 down payment loan don't have to pay it back until the property is sold.
The Johnigans won't have any problem meeting the guidelines.
Johnigan, who was shining shoes at the airport, watched his income plummet after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
"You could make a living," said Johnigan, whose trademark is a vest covered with more than 300 pins he began collecting after 9/11. There were fewer conventions and fewer businessmen who were the backbone of his business. Last year, the company he worked for lost its contract at the airport.
"I take home about $280 every two weeks now," he said. "Before 9/11 at the airport, I could make that much in four or five hours."
Johnigan landed a job at Triple George, which is across the street from Lady Luck. Not a bad location, but then the casino closed down for remodeling, so again his income took a dive.
"My income is equivalent to that of being a waiter - $5.15 an hour, plus tips," he said. And tips are down.
Until last month his wife was a stay-at-home mother, making sure she was always around when her children were home. Now she works for a car auction three days a week, driving vehicles that are to be sold. Her income is not guaranteed.
But the Johnigans have faith.
"I'm Bible-oriented, not religion-oriented," Johnigan, a native of Minneapolis, said.
His children have been high achievers in school. Angelica is a senior at Del Sol High School; she hopes to go on to college but may join the Air Force or pursue a modeling career. Sahara graduated from high school this year and hopes to begin college - possibly the Community College of Southern Nevada - next semester using a Millennium Scholarship. She wants to be a pastry chef. Zachary is an honor student at Orr Middle School. Another son, Joshua, 22, lives on his own and buses tables on the Strip.
"From birth a child should be convinced he or she can fly - more than fly and more than touch the sky," J.J. Johnigan said, mixing a touch of poetry with his philosophy. "I have convinced my children that they are great and can achieve greatness."
He says his children are what motivate him.
"My life is pretty much over," he said. "I'm 52. It's a downhill slide from here on.
"My children, I want them to have a better life. That's what I live for, so my children can have a better life."
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