Here are two stories from Working America field staff whose work focuses on building locally-based networks of activists for a just economy in cities around the country.
Chase Brandau recounts the story of a Minnesota woman who told him "without a job, I don't have a purpose."
She was describing how her life has changed since she had lost her job almost two years ago. Gretchen used to work as a cook at a public school, but was laid-off due to budget cutbacks. Now she is forced to rent out rooms in her house and survive on a $119/week unemployment check, which is set to expire in three months. What she has been through this last two years, echoes what millions of Americans are also suffering through and Gretchen knows this.