Source: The Washington Post
The fourth story in a series on poverty in the Deep South follows the plight of Lauren Scott, a homeless, 28-year-old single mom, as she actively seeks employment in Atlanta. With very little help from state social services, just getting to her interview with Walmart requires four hours round-trip on a spotty public transit system.
Unfortunately, Scott’s situation is not uncommon in the Deep South, where the worst legacies of the Clinton administration’s welfare reforms have taken root. In these states, “…policymakers have dismantled the cash assistance programs that used to provide critical support for the jobless with children. Those like Scott not only have less access to jobs, but also less of a safety net when they are unemployed,” writes the Washington Post.
In Atlanta, the poor cannot afford to live in the city’s expensive urban center. Pushed out to the suburbs, or out of homes altogether, the poor face nearly insurmountable barriers to accessing the economic opportunities in Atlanta’s metropolitan center.
Read Full Story at: The Washington Post