In Our Neighborhood

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032600

Scroll down to find the link to the story "America Now: Friends and Neighbors". That's the story I'm referring to in this post.


Last week NBC's Dateline ran a show on the immense poverty of Southeastern Ohio. You can watch the whole thing online. The area that they visited is in Athens County, about 30 miles from our house. Please take the time to watch it.

When we moved here, the realtor made no mention of the immense poverty in this area. Eric, having traveled here many times before we moved, was aware of the poverty, typical of Appalachian areas. I, however, was shocked. See, our realtor was careful not to drive us through certain areas, but of course, after living here awhile, we found them. I remember driving by a tilted, run-down, heap of a trailer located very near a busy highway and thinking, Wow, someone should clean that abandoned trailer up before it rots into the ground. A few weeks later, I drove by that same trailer, only this time, there were people sitting on the lawn, and through an open door, I could see more people inside. People actually live there, I thought in shock.

While there are definitely pockets of extreme wealth in our area, the poverty is staggering. Main street is filled with food pantries, thrift stores, and aid offices. There are numerous free soup kitchens and signs all over for free meals, especially for children. Some people don't have any running water, and many more don't have clean water. The unemployment rate is high, as many, many businesses have closed. In fact, a huge manufacturing plant closed just before we moved here, and another cut its workforce by 50%. In a neighboring community, a plant is closing at the end of this year, putting about 1200 people out of work. Our county budget is so bad that we no longer have law enforcement on duty for eight hours of the day. The next city over from us is in such financial crisis that the state government had to intervene as many of their utilities have failed and their police force only has enough money for three more months.

So please take the time to watch this. This is where we live. I know America, and indeed the world, has poverty all over the place, but this area is especially struggling. Pray. God is the only One Who can heal.

After watching the video, I became acutely aware of how blessed our family is. Eric's plant is one of the only in the area that is not only doing well, but is growing. There was a hiring fair awhile ago. They needed about 120 people. The hiring fair ran for a few days, and at any given time during those days, there were 100 people in line to apply.

And my sweet, hard-working husband has a secure job that provides for his wife and his children to have more than they could need or want, as well as enough to help many, many others. I have NOTHING to complain about.

And neither do many of you.