Appalachia and the Delta region rank as the poorest areas in the US. There is a difference though, people in the Delta at least have access to decent medical care. A lot of folks in Appalachia don't have that. Not to mention that more than a few folks in Appalacia won't take *handouts* from the govt.
Taken from the news article in Nashville is Talking.
Isolated pockets in Central Appalachia have three times the national poverty rate, an epidemic of prescription drug abuse, the shortest life span in the nation, toothlessness, cancer and chronic depression.
It’s been 41 years since Robert Kennedy called on the rest of America to reach out and help the people of Appalachia. These are the descendents of Davey Crockett, Daniel Boone, Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline and the families of legendary soldiers and pioneers who helped open up the treacherous mountain passes and create an American continent. They are fighters steeped in family, ferocity and faith.
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This is an older article, but I dont think things have changed a whole lot.
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Some quotes from the article
"But for people like Larry and Iva Barkley, little has changed. The couple, interviewed by the AP, lives in Lower Turkeyfoot Township, Pennsylvania. Larry has been on disability for two years and needs a heart transplant. His wife, Iva, who was severely burned in a fire as a child, cannot get a job because she fears losing her husband?s government-funded health coverage. Once their youngest son graduates from high school, their monthly income -- in the form of a Social Security check -- will be just $810.
The family survives by hunting and eating deer and pheasants. ?If it wasn?t for shooting a deer and a few pheasants, we wouldn?t have any red meat except for maybe a piece of beef once in a while,? Larry told the AP. Iva cans food from the garden for the family to eat during the winter. The couple spends about $45 a month at the grocery store."
"Local officials interviewed by the AP admitted that they have known families who melt snow for water, live with chickens in their homes or still use outhouses"
"The ordinary tourist? does not see people like Robert J. ?Moe? Phillippi, recently interviewed by the AP. Phillippi, toothless and barefoot, lives in a run-down cabin in Somerset County, Penn. Dynamite blasts from strip mining ruined the family?s well and turned their bath water the color of rust.His wife, Carol, suffers from diabetes. She says she has not been to the doctor in more than two years. The couple raises their 14-year-old grandson on $1,014 a month from Phillippi?s union pension. Last week, Phillippi went grocery shopping, but had to put back potatoes and lettuce after he realized he could not afford them."
It has been my dream for a long time to travel to Appalachia and photograph the area. We just don't know how damned good we have it.
There is a program on the History Channel that talks about how Appalachia was settled. It is called Hillbilly: The Real Story" and it is narrated by Billy Ray Cyrus (and he did a damned fine job too).
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