The People Behind The Economic Casualty Count
Friday, December 05, 2008SUSIE GHARIB: Earlier in the program, we told you about those dramatic job loss numbers, but each of those numbers is a person, a family, a story. And when jobs disappear, the social costs are as high as the economic ones. In our continuing look at how the economic downturn is affecting Main Street America, Darren Gersh visited Martinsburg, West Virginia.
DARREN GERSH, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: EO Ramsay's dream home doesn't have granite countertops or a whirlpool tub, just three centuries of history.
EO RAMSAY, OWNER, EO'S PAINTING CO: This is a Federal style home.
GERSH: For seven years, Ramsay has been restoring this home, doing much of the work herself. But she may not get to finish the job. A few years ago, heart trouble forced her into debt. She refinanced with Countrywide, but missed some mortgage payments. EO is now suing over a disputed loan modification and for now, foreclosure is on hold. At the same time, her painting business is drying up.
RAMSAY: It makes it hard to sleep at night. You don't know necessarily where your next meal is going to come from.
GERSH: EO is now taking medication for high blood pressure and depression, side effects of the economic downturn. More such symptoms can be seen across this part of West Virginia. The city of Martinsburg once boomed along with the nearby Washington, DC housing market. Now this bathtub factory is laying off workers. One of them is Angel Bush.
ANGEL BUSH: It was 45 of us who came into work. We was working. An hour later, we was called one by one, told to go home. We was laid off.
GERSH: When we talk about economic downturns, we mention things like falling home prices, bankruptcies and job loss. In cities like Martinsburg, West Virginia, downturns can be measured another way: in rising crime and divorce rates and the personal toll of dreams deferred. Angel Bush knows the pain of the downturn firsthand. After months of unemployment and no job prospects, she simply can't afford to pay rent anymore.
BUSH: You start losing other things, too. You start losing your hopes. You start losing your dreams that you had, start losing your home, things that matter.
GERSH: And when homes are under stress, you can see it here, too. At Tuscarora Elementary School, counselor Michele Ransom says most families are still doing OK, but more and more are not.
MICHELE RANSOM, COUNSELOR, TUSCARORA ELEMENTARY: I had a little kindergartener come in the other day. He was so upset and when his teacher asked him, you know, he said because mommy's van got taken away. She doesn't have anything to drive.
GERSH: Several other people told us they knew people who lived in their car. After 20 years running her own business, EO worries she may end up there too and she fears what that would mean for her pets.
RAMSAY: I know that kind of sounds insane to some people, but to me it's a concern. I've had those cats since they were kittens and they get me through some hard times.
GERSH: While the economy has brought hard times to Martinsburg, it has also revealed new sources of strength. Pastor Ed Grove calls that a kind of gift. People are learning to find strength in each other.
ED GROVE, PASTOR, TRINITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: So I think community building is one of the things that I'd put my finger on. We watched that during the great depression. There was a sense of a kind of support that grew out of community. There was a sense of people kind of banding together. We watch that here.
GERSH: EO has come to value even more the friends who are helping her and she continues to fight hard to save her business and her home.
RAMSAY: I hope that through all this, I have learned a lot and with the wisdom that I've learned from this, I'll take it with me the rest of my life and won't make the same mistakes.
GERSH: For now though, EO says she's focused on weathering a storm that still appears to be gathering strength. Darren Gersh, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Martinsburg, West Virginia.
