Hard Times: Lost on Long Island (2012) - full transcript

I could think of a lot worse
things that could happen

to someone
than being unemployed.

I have a lot of things that
happened to me in my life

that helped me
put this unemployment
into perspective.

I was struck by lightning
when I was 15.

I had heart trouble
when I was 21.

Reporter:
There's been an explosion
deep below...

I was at the world trade center.
I just started a new job

when it was bombed
the first time,

and a few months
after that, I was on
the long island railroad

when Colin Ferguson shot all
those people on the railroad.



And most recently,

I was in the world trade center
when it collapsed.

So you know, you put all
this stuff into perspective,

being unemployed is
something that I can
deal with very easily,

and it's-- you know,
could be a lot worse.

It's not the end
of the world.

* why does the sun

* go on shining?

* why does the sea
rush to shore? *

two days ago,
it was a year I'm out of work.

Everybody says the same thing--
"I'll get back to you.
I'll get back to you."

And they never get back.

There's no jobs.
If there is a job,

there's 70 people
that they're talking to.



No, he said, "well,
thanks very much for coming.

You know,
you impressed everybody.

They were really--
they liked what
you had to say."

And then the big "h" word.
Yeah, "however."

No, I don't know
what I'm gonna do.
I don't know.

I don't have anything
right now to fall back on.

No, I came from that networking
meeting this morning.

Nobody's gotten jobs.
Everybody's the same thing.

Boy:
Want any lemonade?
50 cents.

Oh, good idea.
Very entrepreneurial.

* I wake up
in the morning *

* and I wonder

* why everything's
the same *

* as it was

* I can't understand

* no,
I can't understand *

* how life goes on

* the way it does.

I was on the phone
with another company.

- They called me this morning.
- Linda Davis: Good.

Fromm:
So things are picking up,

but picking up
isn't good unless
there's an offer, but...

- I'm sure you're getting
daily alerts.
- Mm-hmm.

- From hot jobs.
- Yeah. Indeed.

- LinkedIn.
- You get any responses?

Fromm:
Yeah, "thank you very
much for your note.

- You'll hear from us."
- And that's it?

Waitress:
Because of the economy,
people come in

and just want a cup of coffee.
We don't bother them.

They hook up and try
to help each other with
jobs and stuff.

I was there when I was
15 years old and you
booted me out.

Let's connect 'cause I still
know quite a few people.

Waitress:
I see them look at the
newspaper, looking for a job,

asking me if I know anyone.
You know, you see it
all day long.

Fromm:
I got turned down
from fedex

to drive a fedex truck

to help deliver
holiday packages.

They told me
I was overqualified.

I just want
to drive a truck.

When does it stop?
So you're overqualified.
You're 50.

So what do you do
with these people that
want to pay their bills?

They don't want to foreclose
on their house.

Because they're 49
and overqualified,
we still have to eat.

- We still have children.
So what do you do with us?
- Mm-hmm.

Steve kubic:
We're in levittown,
New York.

It used to be
an old war community.

The boys used to come home
from war and these houses
were made cheap for them.

Kevin gleason:
When my dad came home
from world war ii,

he paid about $7,000
for the house.

Kubic:
Back then, it was a lot
cheaper to live here.

Jim garthwaite:
I was born and raised
in levittown.

My father was a veteran
in world war ii

who bought one of the original
homes in levittown.

Howard garthwaite:
1947-- there was no place
else to go.

I was living in
a furnished room,

but I saw a house,
and I went to a bank
to get a mortgage on it

and they told me I wasn't
making enough money.

But levitt, who was renting
for the first year--

and then you could
either rent or buy.

* oh, we ain't got
a barrel of money... *

when you moved
into a levitt house,

you got everything
you needed.

You got a refrigerator.
You got the stove.

You got a washing machine.

And this was
the 530th house

to be built.

My father always did what it
took to make ends meet.

I never wanted
for anything.

I had a great home.
I had a nice warm
place to sleep.

We had television.
We had a car.

It was a fantastic place
to grow up-- in levittown.

I've been here
in the same house for 63 years.

Over the years,
people added on.

They made changes
to the house.

What started out
as an $8,000 house

is now a $318,000 house.

And that's down
from the $400,000

it was worth
a couple years ago.

Jim:
The economy changed,

and I know when people
are struggling.

I recognize
the unemployment checks,

and I recognize the certified
letters from the banks.

I live paycheck
to paycheck.

I don't even know if I can
make my next mortgage payment.

Kevin:
I worked here
for many, many years

and always made money
to provide for my family,

and now I just can't do it
no more. There's no jobs.

Chris foley:
This is the seventh month
anniversary

of my getting fired.

You know who's really evil
are human resources, though.

They're like double agents.

There was this woman
Ashley in h.R.

I'm dancing with her
at our Christmas party,

and she knows
I'm getting fired.

It was like... ,
and I'm going...

And she's like,
"you're such a good dancer."
And I'm like, "I know."

Meanwhile, she's going,
"you're so fucked."

Newscaster:
A big day of gains
for the markets.

Newscaster #2:
...Out of the recession.
You're starting to see growth.

Newscaster #3:
The economy's looking
much stronger.

Newscaster #4:
The economy has recovered.

Newscaster #5:
The system in place right now
is creating lazy American.

Newscaster #6:
The moocher class out there.

Newscaster #7:
When people start to look,
they start getting jobs.

Go out and get a job!
Work at McDonald's.

Work two jobs.

Man:
Good luck.
Thank you.

James d'ambrosio:
Ever since the crash, we're
in a period of what I call,

"prolonged economic
uncertainty."

The game has changed.

Instead of getting 20
or 30 years at a company,

hopefully, you can get
two or three.

Ryan einis:
It's been weird times.

Weird going to college
and having expectations

and assuming that things
would go one way, and then
the next thing you know,

you're looking
for a job at whole foods.

Ralph Morrison:
The middle class is
not in the middle anymore.

I think it's more
of a lower class now.

I mean, when I first started,
if you had a job
making $30,000--

I'm now 20-some odd
years later,

applying for jobs
that are paying $30,000 now.

Randolph leidl:
When I read the paper

and I read articles about
the recession being over

and things are getting better
and there's job growth
and whatnot,

I just don't believe it.
It's laughable.

I've always been
self-sustaining,

self-sufficient
financially,

and now we're just
in a situation where
we've been looking

for a real job

for a couple years
now already.

Leidl:
We're kind of at our wits' ends

and we have the three children
to take care of.

I've always made
a good income.

- $100,000 is a lot of money.
It is a lot of money.
- It is.

But a third of it goes
toward your taxes--

federal, state,
city, whatnot.

So you're left
with $65,000.

Food has gotta cost you,
I know, with us, right,

what is it?
$800 a month, probably,

to feed everybody
breakfast, lunch
and dinner.

So that's another $10,000.

You got your mortgage
and everything else.
You know what I mean?

So you're chipping away,
you know?

I can't fathom that
people can survive
in this environment.

I'm just calling to find
out if any new decisions
have been made

or how we're gonna
go forward.

If you can give me a call,
please, I would appreciate it.

It's 4:00 on Tuesday.
Thanks much. Bye.

Dang.

I never imagined that I would
be in a position,

being out of work
for a year

and think that
we could lose the house.

We moved here for a reason.

Long island's been very good
to us and the kids,

and we have friends
out here.

I love it out here.

* this magic moment...

Fromm:
Grew up in Brooklyn.
Born and raised in Brooklyn.

I went to Brooklyn college.
I met Susan at Brooklyn
college.

We lived there
for five years

before moving out
to long island.

Long island is a great place
to raise a family.

The highways
are right near us,
to ride to the beach,

Jones beach,
tobay beach.

We joined the pool.

The more time
we spent out here,

the more we liked it.

That's why the prospect

of losing this house
is very upsetting,

and I'll do
what I have to do.

My last job was
at a company called l.R.N.,

which was a leader
in the field of compliance
and ethics training.

You never really think
it's going to happen to you.

They would call people
into the office

and, you know,
they would come out in tears.

Everybody thinks
their job is important,

so I felt that,
like a lot of other people,
"my job is safe."

I was able to work from home.
I didn't spend much time
in the office,

so when you're asked to come
into the city,

and you're watching
your colleagues getting
laid off left and right...

You know, I guess
the writing was on the wall.

I was laid off.
And, okay, you know,

"tell me what my benefits are
and everything else."

I mean, what am I gonna do?
I'm not gonna let them know
that they really upset me,

but on the trip home,

you know, it hit me.

"I'm unemployed."

I know how you feel
when people tell you that.

People that
aren't unemployed

and people that
aren't going through this.
"Yeah, I know how you feel."

"No, you don't know
how I feel.

You're not out of work
for a year.

You're not trying to support--
you're working.
You have a job.

You don't know
how I feel."

- Fromm: You think like
you're the only one.
- Woman: Totally.

Fromm:
I was talking to one
of my neighbors,

and they're pretty much
in the same boat.

You live next door
to someone for so long,

you don't even know it
and then all of a sudden,

you start talking
about it. "You, too?"

Heather harstein:
Exactly. For a couple months,

- haven't paid the mortgage.
- Right.

Struggling to decide
to pay it or to not

because if you don't pay it
for a couple of months,

then you go
into the foreclosure.

And then you have to
pay more money.

Then you have to
pay more.

We are at the end
of the modification process.

The second time.
For the second time.

- Did you say we're
at the end of it?
- We're at the end of it.

- So we think.
- Fromm: So you hope.

Anne Strauss:
Two years ago I lost my job,

so we put our house
on the market.

It's our only asset.
It's all we've got.

But our property taxes
are very high,

- and we have no money
to retire on.
- Woman: Right.

- So we just have
to work forever...

But we can't get jobs,

- so it's kind of
a vicious circle.
- Woman: Right, yes.

Very difficult to figure out,

- but we all did
what we're supposed to do.
- Right.

And this has been
the result for us.

Strauss:
I remember the day
I lost my job

as if it were yesterday.

It was June, 2008.

The h.R. Manager came
into my office.

I followed him
into a conference room.

The two of them sat down

and I said,

"let's just
get this over with."

Being unemployed
for two years

is not just
a financial loss.

It's an emotional loss.
It's loss of friendships.

People disappear.

You can't socialize.

It changes your--
every facet

of your life.

I'm panic-stricken.

I'm feeling as if
I have absolutely nothing.

I don't wanna be helped.
I wanna just help myself,

but what we want are jobs.

What we need are jobs.

In my next job,

and I will have
a next job,

I will thank god
every morning

and every night
for that job.

Newscaster:
The phrase that job seekers

are seeing more
and more often now--

"the unemployed
need not apply."

Only employed people
need apply, if you
can believe this.

Man:
Is that legal?

Woman:
These folks have created
giant holes for themselves

financially and emotionally.

Man: It affects
their mental health.

It affects their views
of themselves

and their self-worth.

Newscaster:
So could you possibly end up

with a whole class of
permanently unemployed people?

Nick puccio: I've been
on LinkedIn for two years.

I've been
on 20, 30 interviews.

I must have applied

for thousands
of jobs over--

I mean, you know--
nothing.

Different fields--
home depot,

you know,
back to wall street.

I started on wall street.

I'm a wall street guy,

not one of the high-end,
top percenters.

I was a regular guy
that got hired off the street.

I started out
as a messenger.

I was a sophomore
in high school.

* 'cause I'm sitting
on top of the world... *

Nick:
Back then, you got hired
off the street,

get you a job.

They needed people.

There were girls
everywhere,

and I said to myself,
"I'm not gonna fall
for the first one,"

and I met Regina right away,
and it was like, "she's
too damn good."

She's the one
that I'd end up marrying.

* I'm sitting
on top of the world... *

Regina:
I remember being so happy

without a care in the world.

Worked my way
up to vice president

in 2000.

You know, I was making
a decent salary.

I made it to the hundred
grand club, man.

I was there.
I was on the move.

But in 2008,

that's when
it all hit the fan.

Newscaster:
The worst financial crisis
in decades today.

Newscaster #2:
This is just absolutely
stunning that lehman brothers

and merrill lynch would
actually fall on the same day.

Nick:
I went to work that morning.

I spoke
to the guy above me.

"What's going on
with the layoffs?"

And he looked at me,
and he was just real pale.

And I was like,
"you gotta be kidding.

It's me?"

It was just doom.

It was just
doom and gloom, you know,

and I couldn't
do a thing about it.

I said goodbye
to everybody, you know,
I was pretty emotional.

I knew everybody.
I'd get on the elevator,
I knew everybody.

Regina's first words
were like,

"wow, you're home early."

I said, "yeah, I'm home
for today and tomorrow."

Within, like, five minutes,
I was like, "it can't be."

You know,
"it just can't be."

Like,
"how could this happen?"

Not ever knowing
what I was gonna be in for,

not ever
in a million years.

Heather:
I saw it, baby.
Come on. Oh, man.

Dave, you know she's
gonna run right in, right?

Oh, my god!

- David: One more, whoa!
- Wow!

Heather:
The idea that we had spent
so much money on schooling

and we were
so highly educated

and we certainly
did not expect to have
financial difficulties.

That is true.

Dave-- doctor.
Me-- teacher.

You know,
all this education. Please.

Of course,
we're gonna be fine.

Where are you,
baby girl?

We both had jobs.

We got a mortgage
in this tiny little house

that we had purchased.

We could pay
for the mortgage.

I lost my job.

I had three years
of great teaching.

You can write about
anything.

There's no limitations here.

Anything you want.
Use the words, make up
a silly sentence.

I got called
into the office,

and I sat down.

You know,
we were like this.

She said,

"I'm sure you'll do
a good job somewhere else."

I looked her right
in the eye.

I said,
"thank you very much."

And I walked out
of the office,

and I was just
in utter disbelief.

In utter disbelief.

We knew then
that we were in trouble.

David:
I'm a chiropractor.

I have noticed
a big decrease

in business
over the last two years,

probably about 25%.

Our financial situation
is pretty dire

at the moment.

We've recently
filed for bankruptcy.

Heather:
Not a day passes
where we don't,

in some way,
discuss our finances.

David:
Yeah, think about it.
Talk about it.

It's constant.

It's constant.

Heather:
We've been together
16 years,

and I would say
for about 13 years,

we were kind of
like that couple

where everything
was just kind of,

sort of picture-perfect.

David:
We both grew up
on long island.

- We lived
a fairy-tale life...
- Heather: Fairy tale.

...from the very beginning.

I mean literally.
Right down to the
white picket fence.

David:
We went to college--

both:
Suny geneseo.

And we met up there.

- Met right away.
- Yeah, freshman year.
My freshman year,

- and we've
been together since.
- Yeah, long time.

16 years.

First people married
out of college.

- David: Yeah.
- Immediately went
to our graduate degrees.

- We were all, you know...
- David: Wanted to
live out here.

Came out here immediately.

Hi.

- Hi.
- Mommy!

Heather:
We made it through
about 13 years.

David:
Yeah, it just worked.

Heather:
And then you know,
our struggle came later.

* I love you even more

* than I did before

* but, darling,
what can I do? *

Newscaster:
There are a whole lot
of people in this country

that are unemployed,

and if ever there was a need

to extend unemployment
insurance, it is now.

Newscaster #2:
The senate is expected to vote

to extend
unemployment benefits,

but that is little comfort
to the long-term unemployed

who have passed the maximum
time to receive benefits.

Where are the jobs?
Where are the jobs?

Where are the jobs?

Strauss:
Unemployment doesn't seem
to have a face on it.

It's hard
to organize people

who don't have the means
of physically getting together

- in a place.
- 99ers.

Help us now!

People are literally
killing themselves

because they
can't feed themselves
and their family.

Help us now!

Newscaster:
If you've been out of work
for two years or more,

if you're a 99er,
there's no hope in
sight right now.

- Coffee?
- Woman: Yes.

Strauss:
Because we're looking
at the last month

of our unemployment
benefits,

we're terrified,

and if it stops

at 99 weeks,

we just have
no other resources.

Man:
Who can live
off even the maximum?

$430 a week?

Winston Roberts:
When I told my daughter,
I said I lost my job,

she went into
an hysterical crying.

"What are we gonna do?
Where are we gonna live?
What's gonna happen?"

I worked as
a systems manager.

Most of those jobs
went to India.

I was involved
with a lot of the training.

It's scary, working
and training someone

and knowing that you're
actually training someone
to take your job.

Mel Strauss:
I've been told it's one
of two things.

One is it's
age discrimination,

which officially
doesn't exist,

but all of us know
it's out there in force

and that really annoys me.

Or they tell me
I'm overqualified.

I don't know why I went
to college, at this point.

I don't know
why I spent nights

getting a graduate degree.

I should have become
a plumber.

Paula sargent:
I'm doing all I can
to even network

and it's still not working
in my favor.

You would think that
your family and friends
would be proactive

in helping you get there,
but it's like you're
on your own,

- and that's very
disheartening for me...
- Alan: Yeah.

Because I have
to go to bed every night

thinking about that.

Mel:
You know, people say,
"be tough, be strong,"

but how do we get up
every day

and face the abyss?

It sounds weird,
but there's good
in every bad.

And there's good
that comes out of cancer

if you survive it.

Anne:
Mel had lung cancer in 1999.

In 2000,

that lung cancer
metastasized to his brain.

He experienced
horrific surgeries,

radiation, chemotherapy.

There's such support
when there's physical illness,

but when you've got
this scary, no money,

going-down-the-tube
situation,

people, I think, are
more afraid--

"this could happen to me."

Having cancer was easier
than being unemployed.

Anne:
I grew up in a completely
artificial world,

but I had no idea.
It was the '60s.

I graduated
from high school in 1970.

* and your shoes
get so hot... *

when I was a teenager,
we had a cabana

at point lookout,

and during the summer,
we would go there all the time

and have barbecues.

It was carefree.

There were no worries.

* on a blanket
with my baby *

* is where I'll be...

I went to college,

probably because
I wasn't engaged, frankly,

but I'm very glad
I did go to college.

I was a bit of a rebel.

The little hippie type,

marching in
anti-Vietnam rallies.

I like a good rally.
I really do.

* under the boardwalk,
boardwalk. *

Mel:
We met on the long island
rail road.

You become a creature
of habit,

and when you're
on the rail road,

you tend to go to the same car,
the same section.

I used to sit
with four other people

in this five-seater.

One guy and I
would always trade jokes.

So one day we're sitting
there telling jokes

and there's this very
pretty girl across the aisle,

obviously
trying not to laugh.

Probably a year or two
after that, we got married.

* boardwalk.

And that's how
it all started.

We were a product
of the long island rail road.

Fromm:
For a couple of days,

I had severe headaches
that wouldn't go away.

I had muscle aches.
My neck was stiff,

and I decided

to go see my doctor,

but the checkup
showed nothing

and, quite honestly,

he attributed all
the symptoms to stress

and anxiety,
possible depression.

Maybe it was finally
catching up to me.

It's been 14 months.

I recently gave blood.

I give platelets
every other week,

and they test the blood

before they give
to anybody,

and it tested positive
for west nile virus.

At least I knew I had
something and I wasn't crazy.

You know,
I'll keep plugging away,

keep looking for the jobs

and making the phone calls,
doing what I'm doing.

Anne:
Right now I'm pretty nervous.

I've got my rosary beads
and my St. Anthony medal.

St. Anthony finds things,
like jobs.

Hello, this is Anne.

Woman:
Hi, Anne. I'd love
to hear more about you--

what you're doing now,
what you've been doing,
what you want to do.

Anne:
I was involved
with media relations.

P.r.

And I left there because
they had a management change.

A new director
of marketing came in
and brought his own team in.

So since that time,

in the last two years,

I've been working 20 hours
a week.

How do you feel about diving
into a situation, you know,

60-hours-a-week job,
BlackBerry on the weekends?

That kind of thing.

Are you prepared to dive
into that kind of environment?

I'll be quite frank
and say that's really
what it is here.

Anne: Yes.

I wouldn't expect it
to be any less.

Well, I had an interview.
I had a follow-up.

It wasn't offered. I thought
I was offered the job.

I kind of assumed
that I would get it.

Coming home
and saying, you know,

"I didn't get the job,
once again."

That's tough.
That's the blow.

Newscaster:
The problem with
unemployment benefits

is they encourage people
not to take jobs.

Newscaster #2:
You're taking money
from employers

and you're giving
them, by definition,
unproductive people.

Newscaster #3:
Doing nothing
but collecting a check.

Rush limbaugh:
The longer you pay
people not to work,

the longer they're not
gonna try to work.

Fromm:
I'm not sitting home
and doing nothing.

A day does not go by
that I am not looking for work.

I had a series of six
or seven different interviews

with the same company,
different people.

"We're gonna make a decision
within the next week,

and you'll hear
from us next week."

A week goes by
and two weeks go by,

then all of a sudden,
the company disappears from
the face of the earth.

The first plane
had already hit,

and I was
the fire warden

for the building,

so I took the firemen
with me and we went
into the building,

checked floor by floor.

We got back down,
and I turned to go out,

and it was at that
time that just the force
of the building coming down

basically pushed me out
of the doors.

I ended up
under an ambulance

and the rubble just piled
around the ambulance.

Right before
I lost consciousness,

I remember thinking
that my son's bar mitzvah
was coming up.

I had to make it
to his bar mitzvah.

I wasn't gonna let him
do this on his own.

When I finally
did come home,

I remember pulling up
in the driveway

and my son heard the alarm
on the car when I locked it.

And he just stood there
at the front door,

"well, it's about time
you got home."

Nick:
I've gotten a couple
of notices in the mail

telling me
I'm a year behind.

You're now 620-some odd
days, whatever.

But I'm hoping to hold
onto it for the kids.

My boys love the house.

You know, I'd be more
than happy to move down
to the basement

and give them upstairs
to be a part of their life.

If I had the funds,

I would have sent them
to a private school,

somewhere where they had
a good basketball program

or a good athletic program.

He could play any sport,

but basketball,
he'd be a stud.

When the kids were small,

it was great.
You'd have a catch.
You could throw the football.

You know, if I was here
when they were younger,

I would have had
a batting cage over here.

I would have put
the net over.

A little younger
and things worked out right,

this place would
have been unbelievable,

but it would hurt.
It would just hurt

'cause it's mine.

My piece of land,
you know?

When they give me
that foreclosure notice,

I got, I guess,
from what I understand,

18 months or so.

When I see something
certified or whatever,
then I know.

Then I know.

It could be any day.

Sgt. David sheehan:
Do you know why we're here?

It's to complete
a warrant to remove.

Your house
was foreclosed on.

We have a moving truck,
and about 10 guys to come

and move everything
to the curb.

Man #2:
We are definitely seeing
an increase in the evictions.

We're busier now than
we have ever been

in the 23 years-plus
I've been here.

That tells you something
about the economy.

When we're that busy,
it's never good.

Jose Suarez:
The people in the middle class
didn't have to worry about

having their goods
put out on the street.

I always kind of felt
you had a certain level
of protection

to fall back on.

Wolf:
How do you recover from this?

Machine:
You've reached
Wells Fargo home mortgage.

If you will,
leave a message with your name,
loan number and phone number.

Thanks.
Have a great day

and thank you for choosing
Wells Fargo home mortgage.

Hi, Laura.
This is David hartstein.

I'm calling to check
on the status of my
loan modification.

So if you could please
give me a call back,

I'd really appreciate it.
Thank you.

David:
In the fall,
we went for the modification

- on our own.
- And we just had way
too much debt.

- They said no.
- No.

Actually, they said no
the day he was born.

Oh, that was fun.

Did you say hi to Logan,
shay-shay larue?

Yes!

- He's touching you, LAN.
- He's licking me.

He loves you.
He's trying to
give you kisses.

We got home on a Friday night,
and on Monday afternoon,

I got the call.

We got a call in the morning
that he tested positive
for downs.

- And that we
needed to come in.
- We needed to come in.

It was the most
stressful time, as you
can imagine, of our lives,

- yeah.
- Which has created all
this magic and beauty

for which we are
very grateful, but...

That's when we decided
to file for bankruptcy.

And that was
when we decided.

We were like,
"we're done with all this."

Richard Jacoby:
So you did the chapter 7.

All your unsecured debt
is eliminated.

- Yes.
- And you're delinquent
on this mortgage?

- Heather: Yes.
- How far back?

- Heather: Four months.
- Three, four months.

You just weren't able
to make the payments?

Heather:
We can't make the payments.

We're also in the middle
of a modification.

It probably has helped you
that you're now delinquent,

because if one is current,
it's unlikely that they're
going to modify.

- Heather: Right.
- It does not help that there's
equity in the property.

Of course, the bank
is fully protected,

and if they
were to foreclose,
they would be made whole,

and when it's time
to go, you go.

Fromm:
We're behind now four,
five months on the house.

Truthfully, you know,
it's embarrassing.

There have been times when
I questioned whether it's me.

What am I doing wrong?

It's the same things over
and over again.

You get close. You think
you find a good opportunity

and then it disappears.

The more trouble,
the more I turn to the religion

and turn to god
for, you know,

for comfort.

I mean, I'm here.

It's time to talk to god
and find out.

You know, here I am.

Can you help me?

David:
Things between Heather and I

became really difficult.

The financial hardship
that we were experiencing.

Heather:
It was killing him.

- He would get major,
major rage.
- I would pop.

- David: I didn't
know how to...
- Handle emotion.

...deal and handle
and feel emotions.

Heather:
That created
a huge detachment

from each other.

A complete removal
of affection on my part.

- David: Right.
- Like a deadness.

Heather:
We discussed him leaving.

I was pretty serious

and I think you didn't
really believe me,

and then,
"you threatening me?
You threatening me?

This is my house."
And then, you know,
the lawn mower gets thrown.

And then there's gasoline
all over the floor,

and the kids are there,
and i'm--

everything is a mess
and a wreck and I just said,

"you are hurting me.

I'm in pain."

It seems on the outside,

with everybody
looking in,

like because we've got
the cute house

and the cute kids
and we do have
a great relationship,

it seems like
everything's so easy,

but we know we work
really hard.

- Yeah.
- At not letting

all the stress that has
been our life for years

- to drown us, you know?
- Yeah.

Anne:
My husband has moved up
to Albany

and is living with my son
and his family,

and he's working probably

at least 12 hours a day
as a mortgage broker.

It's something I never
imagined we would need to do,

in my wildest dreams.

Mel:
I'm 65

and I'm not going to
be running around

for another
30 or 40 years.

This is not right.

If there was one thing
I could do tonight,

all it would be would be
to sit at home

with my dogs on my lap
and Anne pounding away
on her computer.

That's all I need.

That's my American dream.

What politician is gonna work
for me on that one?

I don't have much more time.

I don't want to die on route 78
going to saratoga Springs.

Nick:
I have a bulging disc
in my neck.

My hands are numb--

and anxiety, depression.
Anxiety, I guess.

I'm on medication
for that, too.

I can't go without insurance,
especially now.

It's just not right.

Like, I've been working
since I'm 15, straight
through all the years.

I never used
those benefits.

Like, I worked hard
for those benefits.

Now I'm 50 years old
and I can't get them.

You know, I'm broke.

I'm freakin' poor.

I'm bankrupt.
I'm done.

You know,

I'm in the lower half.

I don't make any money.

Regina:
Food should not be an issue.

That's like going
into a supermarket

and fearing that
I don't have enough money.

How am I gonna feed
my kids next week?

How am I gonna
feed my kids this week?

How am I supposed
to do this?

So I've been
selling jewelry

to get some
extra food money

and pay some bills
with that,

but, um...

I did ask them...
About my engagement ring.

They told me that
approximately maybe $2,000.

They would really have to
look up to see what I would get,

but my husband

was completely shattered
when he--

he said, "I hope it
doesn't come to that

'cause I worked very hard
to get you that ring

and it was such
sentimental value."

Regina:
I'll take the milk.

I'll take something
like this.

I don't keep it
a secret anymore

because it just is
what it is.

And if it's a matter
of getting

a couple of cans of corn

or whatever to supplement,
so what?

It just gives me more money
to be able to pay my
electric bill.

This is for Thanksgiving

and here's your Turkey.

We'll get from people
remarks like,

"what did you do
with all your money?

What did you do
with all your money, you know,

that you should
have to use a pantry?"

It's tough.
It's tough walking in there.

'Cause that's kind of
a big reminder

of where you're at.

That is the reminder
of where you're at.

Fromm:
Yesterday I came home
from a support group

where people said to me,
"oh, you're always smiling.
You're always happy.

That's why
we love coming here.

We love spending time
with you."

And I got home,
and I actually said to Susan,

"you know what? I don't think
I've ever felt this depressed."

There are days where
I just feel like, you know,

it's not even worth
getting up in the morning.

I actually took out
the life insurance policies

to see how the family
would be taken care of
if I were no longer here.

My daughter had
written me a note

when she knew I was
in one of my deep funks.

And she said, "dad, you're
the best at what you do.

You're good people.

We don't know why bad things
happen to good people."

She says,
"but just remember,

what doesn't kill you
will always make you stronger."

And...

When I get--

sorry.

When I get into my moods,
I take that piece of paper out,

and I read it,

and it turns everything
around for me.

* just imagine a life
with us together *

* just imagine...

* all of our dreams
coming true *

* just imagine...

Anne:
With the holidays
coming up, it's just--

- Uh...
- I hope the kids aren't
expecting lots of gifts.

When they were younger,

hanukkah would come,
they'd get a gift
every night.

Right, right.

We're gonna take it.
We're gonna re-wrap it
and give it to them again.

Nick:
You see the roof on the house?
That's your gift this year.

That's my gift, yeah.

Regina:
Everybody goes through
hard times.

- You know, but why so long?
- Fromm: Yeah.

Regina:
Like two years.

There's gotta
be some damage.

- You've disappeared.
You've fallen into a hole.
- Mm-hmm.

There's nothing left.

Quit spending money
we don't have.

The question still remains--
where are the jobs?

Politician:
Government does not
create jobs.

Save whatever actually works.
Investment in education.

Politician #2:
Many schools have been
forced to lay off teachers.

They're the first to go.

These are real human beings
who are out here struggling.

Politician #3:
We need to pay attention
to these people

who have at times
had to choose

between baby food
and diapers

and heating fuel.

"We only eat two meals
a day to conserve.

I have no oil
for hot water.

We boil our water on the stove
and pour it into the tub.

I am making $10 an hour.

I don't go to church
many sundays

because the gasoline is
too expensive to drive there."

The house was put

into foreclosure.

We didn't tell anybody yet.

Heather:
It's like, you look around,
we don't seem like people

who just went bankrupt,
who are in foreclosure.

David:
I don't want people
to pity us.

You know,
the feelings of failure.

Heather:
I definitely feel
anxious a lot.

Regina:
I take the holy water

and I bless the house
with it.

They say that it cleanses
the evil away.

I pray for strength.

I just ask god
to please don't leave us.

You know,
please don't abandon us.

Nick:
Basically, this is
the first step

in the foreclosure process.

I guess it's gonna
take a little time.

I guess I got a year,

18 months.
If I'm lucky, more.

If not,

we'll find a place to live.

So time to go.

Find a place to stay.

Maybe I'll go back to queens,
if they'll go for it.

We're not
in a cardboard box yet.

Not just yet.

I don't think
it'll never be the same.

The American dream
is gone.

Heather:
I'd like to welcome everyone

to Dave's funeral

and celebration.

Heather:
Dave's death
has opened the hearts

of many people
in our community.

'Cause they know we're
in these dire straits
financially.

I mean,
we had the dream.

The dream was lived.
The dream ended.

* I've got dreams

* dreams

* to remember

* many, many dreams

* hard dreams
and bad dreams *

* to remember

* I dreamed one day

* I wanted to be
with you *

* but you were
so far away *

* an airplane
couldn't reach you *

* that's why I got dreams

* dreams to remember...

You know the interview,
the first one was towards
the end of December.

I interviewed again

a week ago Tuesday,

and the offer was made
to me yesterday,

and I accepted.

* dreams

* to remember

* dreams, yeah

* to remember

* good dreams, bad dreams,
sweet dreams *

* yeah,
I got to remember *

* long dreams,
tall dreams *

* oh, lord,
I got to remember *

* I been tired
all night *

* sleep in the morning,
girl *

* yeah, help me
to remember *

* sweet, sweet dreams

* sweet dreams,
yeah, girl *

* I got to remember

* take me away

* take me away,
take me away *

* I'm gonna wanna
remember *

* take me all the way

* take me home...