Broke in the ’burbs
Poverty has moved to the suburbs
KIM, who is 35 years old and has two children, left high school to look after her mother, a cocaine addict. When Kim’s marriage began to fail and her husband fell ill, she developed addictions of her own—to alcohol and pills, from which she has been free for eight months. She now works at a fast-food restaurant, making, she guesses, around $14,000 a year.
This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Broke in the ’burbs”
From the July 20th 2013 edition
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