bailey who's 23 years old taking third. and how do you assess their chances against the jamaica in london? >> ato: tom, this u.s. team i think is better than the u.s. team that went to beijing in 2008. yes, the showdown is certainly set. jamaica versus the usa. but this u.s. team is well capable of at least getting a medal in beijing. they only got one medal. >> tom: all right. so as justin gatlin accepts congratulations and interacts with the crowd, that will do it for us here in eugene. tomorrow in prime time, the countdown to the london olympic games continues on nbc as olympic gold medalist michael phelps and ryan rochte face off in the pool as the u.s. olympic swimming trials tomorrow at 8:00 eastern on nbc. coming up next, it is an all-new "dateline," followed by back-to-back episodes of "america's got

i just remember sitting there, going, i cannot believe i'm having to do this. this sucks. >> they are your neighbors. your family. your friends. >> your claim is -- >> the new middle-class poor. midden behind the closed doors of suburbia. >> this is the face of food stamps. my children are the face of medicaid. >> they once enjoyed the good life. >> plentiful. >> now they are just one payday from disaster. >> this check doesn't add up to these bills. >> this is the story of their painful trip down. >> this crisis has really taken a toll on your relationship? >> i said, there's the door. >> what they had to do to survive. >> you don't like coming back here? >> i hate coming back here. i hate it. >> and their fight to get back

up. >> the fact that i'm actually out there working again. i just felt like i was waking up again. it was very exciting. >> "america now" lost in suburbia. welcome to "dateline," everyone, i'm lester holt. feeling poor these days? you're not alone. as you may have heard, according to a new government study, between 2007 and 2010, the median american family lost almost 40% of its net worth. many american families are falling out of the middle class, and straight into poverty. in fact, for the first time there are more poor people living in the suburbs than traditional home of the middle class, than in cities. we've been following three families since last fall, as they confronted poverty for the first time. we've been with them on job searches. and welfare offices. in their kitchens, as they face losing their homes and their futures.

yet never losing themselves. >> seat belts on. >> reporter: diane is the wind of do it all mom you often meet in the affluent suburbs of boulder, colorado. >> we're going to get some groceries. pasta, rice, cereal, a gallon of milk. >> reporter: she's an ambitious human resource executive, with a master's degree, a husband, three kids, and a comfortable home. so what is diane doing here? >> we have tons of government commodities today. can you use rice countriespies? >> yes. >> reporter: at a food pantry. >> i never imagined that we'd be in this kind of predicament, and for this long. it just feels scary. there's so many unknowns. >> the windemueller's didn't see it coming three years ago when they moved from michigan to the boulder suburbs. >> i felt that it was kind of

like going to mecca. because the economy was apparently better over here and the jobs were plentiful. >> their new life began well, indeed. john an avid runner found work as a business consultant with an athletic company. diane found an executive position in human resources. together they were earning about $120,000 a year. >> and it just gave us some stability, sense of security, that, you know, we can pay for everything and have some leftovers. >> comfortable. >> comfortable for us, yeah. >> but not an extravagant lifestyle. >> no. but nice for us. >> nice meant two cars. including a new suv. it also meant three months' worth of savings in the bank. just in case. >> something happens, you need that money there to fall back on if you need it. >> sensible people, leading sensible lives. just like joyce and lincoln welch.

>> our life was pretty simple. but, comfortable. we were able to do the vacations. we were able to go visit family. couldn't go out and buy a new mercedes but we did definitely have a comfortable middle-class life. >> the welches and their three children live in superior, colorado. a town "money" magazine named one of the top 20 best places to live in america just last year. >> it is the most amazing place in the country to live. we have a real sense of community within our town. i feel safe here. >> joyce's husband lincoln is a mechanical engineer, who, for the last seven years, earned close to six figures, designing printers at a tech company. joyce had quit working years earlier to care full-time for her youngest son michael, who was born with a rare chromosomal disorder. >> to date he's had 17 surgeries and various procedures. and we're looking at at least two more.

michael, that's you. >> michael's medical bills, without out-of-pocket costs of up to $30,000 a year, didn't leave much in the family savings account. but, as long as lincoln had his job, the family was financially safe. >> we weren't struggling. there was never a concern about how are we going to pay this bill? it was just okay, you know, here's a bill, pay it. >> and then, in november 2011, joyce's safe and sensible life came crashing down. >> i got a phone call from lincoln saying, i have some bad news. and he said that they did another round of layoffs, and he was in this round. i mean you've got three kids to take care of. you've got a house. you have a dog, two fish. you go into survival mode. what do i have to do to survive? >> diane and john's own fight for survival began in april 2011 when diane says she lost her

executive job because of a workplace dispute. but she wasn't worried at first. >> i continue ter viewed over a period of five weeks for one position then it came down to me and one other person and i was told i was not the one. >> at first you can rationalize it. >> yeah. >> another job coming on. >> i can roll with that. >> and then the next one. >> exactly. >> and then that didn't happen. >> exactly. >> to make matters worse, john's consulting job had been eliminated four months earlier. he had been able to find a sales job at an athletic store with benefits but at a much lower salary. >> did you get it? >> then, in june 2011, their youngest daughter hospitalized with a rare liver disease. she recovered but the family suddenly owed thousands of dollars in medical bills. >> let's go have supper. >> so much for their savings. >> to cover our bills, to keep

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going, i cannot believe i'm having to do this. this sucks. we can try to find a nice word for it but at the end of the day

it just sucks. >> it's a hard time, i know. >> joyce is speaking to sarah nelson, the program director at the sister carmen community center, a nonprofit organization that had traditionally helped low-income families in east boulder counties. in 2010, only 4% of sister carmen's clients were from well-to-do boulder suburbs like superior. but by the end of 2011, that share had exploded to a whopping 22%. so your demand went up from 2010 to 2011, the financial crisis started in 2008. why now? why are we seeing it now? >> i think that especially when it comes to middle-class families that their resources are drained. they've utilized all of their savings, all of their retirement funds, gotten as much help from family and friends as they possibly can, and we're their last resort. >> and it isn't just happening here. for the first time in u.s. history, there are more poor

people living in the suburbs than in cities. among them, millions of formerly middle-class families who are relying on safety net services for the very first time. >> whenever families access that financial assistance from us, they meet with a support services coordinator. that kind of helps explore how we can support them, so that they can reach self-sufficiency and no longer will need our services. >> it's all about writing a road map to self-sufficiency. >> yes. >> sister carmen is able to help joyce with next month's rent. they also give her some gift cards for gas, and groceries. and with the holidays around the corner, some christmas gifts for the kids. >> i'm grateful for it. i really am. but there's also an unbelievable sadness. because i have to ask for help. i want to be able to do it on my own. i want to be the one who's able to help somebody else, not the one who needs to ask for help.

>> joyce's emotional descent into poverty is just beginning. and there will be many more moments of sadness and humiliation to come. >> i was laid off two weeks ago. my insurance ran out the end of the month. >> this is anne huggins. we met her that very same day just two offices down the hall from joyce. anne was making her first visit to a sister carmen counselor. >> if i get unemployment, based on what my income was, will only be $200 a week. >> since she lost her job at a nonprofit solar power company, anne has been in a panic about how to afford her teenage daughter's diabetes medication. >> i need to get a job as quick as possible, with benefits. >> anne knows how tough it will be to find that job. her husband, an aircraft mechanic, lost his in 2008. and has worked only sporadically since. the couple blew through their

savings and 401(k)s, and are now separating. how much are the financial stresses a part of tearing you two apart? >> it became a huge problem in the marriage. i mean it kind of overshadows everything else. >> as a single mom, anne knows she is now five times more likely to end up below the poverty line than if she were married. her in-laws are helping to pay the mortgage. but otherwise, anne needs all the help she can get. and she doesn't hesitate to ask. but that doesn't make it any easier. >> i'm sure this feels like it's stepping back. but keep the focus on moving forward, right? >> yes. it's okay to receive. and sometimes we need it. you know, you just have to do it and you have to put your self-esteem and your emotions on hold and just do what you need to do. and be okay with it. >> anne's counselor andrea helps her apply for a low-cost state health insurance program for her daughter. and arranges to help pay january's electricity, water and

medical bills. >> it's temporary. >> good, thank you. >> you'll be able to get back on your feet. >> diane and john also hope their situation will be short-lived. as the sole provider, john is feeling the pressure. he loved his job at the athletic store. but his salary is not nearly enough to pay all the bills. >> from a traditional mind-set, you know, us guys, we're supposed to go out there, kill it, drag it, bring it back in. so, yeah, as a man i feel like i'm not taking care of the family. >> in july 2011, after three months out of work and with their savings exhausted, diane reluctantly turns to hhs. boulder county's department of housing and human services. >> they said, are you needing rent assistance? how are you doing with your housing? so i told them things are getting really tight. >> was that an out-of-body experience to be in a conversation like that about

your finances with strangers? >> yes. >> we're talking public assistance here. >> yes. i think, you know, we had gotten to a certain point where we just needed that kind of help, and you know, you get to a point where you're willing to become vulnerable in that way. >> but diane is shocked by what hhs suggests next. >> they said oh, and here by the way, here's a list of all the food pantries in town and you can go and access those. and i was like, no! i don't want to do that. you know, there's a stigma about that. i'm not going to do that. >> diane will soon realize she has no choice. coming up, a secret visit to a food pantry. >> i put my hair in a ponytail and i wore sunglasses and i tried to park as far away as possible and then i walked around the building to see if there was a back way in and a back way out. >> when "dateline" continues. ♪ ♪

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money from family to stock pile medication. >> this is more than a month's worse >> anne is anxiously waiting to hear whether her daughter will qualify for low-cost insurance. >> hello. this is she. thank you so much.

wow. okay. all right. bye. that's fantastic. yay! so my daughter has temporary insurance coverage. whoo! god that's a huge load off. i've relied on my family to cover medical expenses, and, now i don't have to. so -- >> anne is about to turn 50. this is not where she imagined she would be. but at least her daughter is safe for now. so in the last four years we've had 100,000 applications for assistance in boulder town toy loan. this is just too many numbers to not have a mass intervention. >> frank alexander is the director of boulder county's department of housing and human services. when the recession hit in 2008,

he foresaw the deluge of struggling middle-class families who would turn to his department for help. >> safety nets are historically built to try to catch people right before they hit the pavement. if we can get people before they fall, we can actually serve a lot more people in a lot better way, and we don't have to just clean up the mess on the street. >> but just as hhs began to create new programs to help unemployed families get back on their feet, the state and federal government actually cut hhs's funding by $6 million. more than 20% of the agency's annual budget. so hhs turned to the citizens of boulder county, with a controversial proposal. a profit tax hike. >> we asked the community for five years of support. so it's a five-year tax. and it equals about $21 per year on a $300,000 home. >> ballot initiative 1-a came to a vote in november 2010.

surprisingly, it passed. in its first year, 1-a raised $5 million. >> want to help set the table? >> one of its beneficiaries, the windemuller family, with diane still unemployed, their rental assistance is extended until march 2012. >> come on, honey. >> but in return, hhs demands proof that the family is now living on a strict budget. >> they wanted accountability for sure. and they asked us to cut back and cut back and cut as much as possible. >> god we thank you for this day. amen. >> so the family eliminates vacations, dinners out, and after-school activities for the kids. they canceled their cable, downgrade their internet service, stop using credit cards, and start shopping for clothes in thrift stores. but they decide to keep the big suv. was the suv a symbol of better days? >> yes. definitely.

definitely a symbol of security and success, and solidly middle-class people. >> that solid middle-class life seems like a distant memory now. paying basic bills has become a struggle. even the grocery bills. so to save money, diane musters up the nerve to do what just a few months ago was unthinkable. she goes to her local food pantry. >> and i tried to park as far away as possible. and then i walked around the building to see if there was a back way in and a back way out. i put my hair in a ponytail and i wore sunglasses. >> like you were doing something -- >> right. it just felt so uncomfortable. >> diane makes it through that first visit but she is mortified the day she can't afford a baby-sitter. and has to bring her kids. >> i don't want them to remember this time. >> diane? >> how are you? >> and i don't want them to

remember a food pantry in their life. how are they going to process that? what's going on? and when is our life going to feel normal again? and mom and dad really haven't pulled it together yet. >> in fact, they haven't. and now it's getting serious. diane and john are fighting more and more. their arguments get so bad they decide to go to a marriage their pips >> this crisis has really taken a toll on your relationship. >> it has. >> it's a glimpse into a place rarely visited by tv news cameras. a place where diane and john's fears, anxieties, and resentments all come tumbling out. >> just a couple of nights ago we were at each other's throat about things, and i think i said, there's the door. this mess did not happen overnight and it's not going to get cured overnight. but people panic. that's why the situation is so

volatile. and when you're stressed and you have all this worry, and there's all this -- >> kids. >> -- fear. how are you going to pay the bills? how are you going to keep the lights on? how are you going to get food? are you guys still getting -- >> how am i going to get our kids to college? >> yeah. retirement. college. all those things are totally on hold right now. and that's got to be very disillusioning. >> for diane and john, the upcoming year is shaping up to be an uphill battle. for joyce, too, she has just received lincoln's first unemployment check. the family's only source of income now. >> i look at this unemployment check here and you're looking at the bills here, and this check doesn't add up to these bills. he's got to find a job. >> needing every penny for rent, joyce puts on a brave face and heads to the sister carmen food pantry.

>> i can make banana bread. my kids love banana bread. so that's not too bad to them. >> to make the food pantry experience more dignified for its clients, sister carmen designed the space to mimic a supermarket. but there is only so much the center can do. there's no mistaking that it's a food bank. >> exactly. it's a food bank. i'm thrilled and blessed to have sister carmen. >> but you don't like coming back here? >> i hate coming back here. i hate it. i want to be able to do it -- i want to pick what i want to eat. i want to feed my kids what my kids will eat and not have to worry about okay, but this is all we've got. >> so each time you come here you're praying it's the last? >> yes. i don't want to have to come back. and yet i know in two weeks i'll be here again. >> christmas is only days away. as joyce wraps the presents that sister carmen donated to her kids, she struggles to keep up the facade that everything is okay. >> i'm trying to stay above

water. i'm trying not to drown, and not to think. >> joyce doesn't realize it yet but a storm is coming. coming up, is the welch family about to be homeless? >> there is a moment where i went, my joy is gone. my love for life is gone. >> when "america now: lost in suburbia" continues. ♪ [ male announcer ] the new samsung series 9 isn't only the world's thinnest 15-inch laptop. it has killer design, up to a 10 hour battery life, and just in case you weren't convinced, with a 9.1 second boot time, it's pretty quick on the draw too. [ gunshot ] the samsung series 9. it's time to clear the air. ♪ ♪ you gotta hit a wall to see the light ♪ ♪

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>> 2012 starts out well for joyce. >> i just talked to the home stabilization program and she says that you would be eligible. >> yay. >> through ballot initiative 1-a the welch family has just qualified for a prom that will pay their full rent for three months. long enough, joyce hopes, for her husband lincoln to find work. but a month later, in february, lincoln still hasn't made any progress. >> i was expecting a very, very quick transition from one job to another. i was thinking, this is going to be a week, two weeks. maybe three weeks. not even close. >> lincoln's unemployment check is $2,000 a month. less than a third of what the family used to make. it's official now, the welch family has fallen below the u.s. poverty line. one of at least 3.5 million suburbanites who have crossed

that line since 2007. >> there's faces behind those numbers. it's kids that are affected. it's a family that's impacted. it will be easy, baby. >> i don't want -- >> over the years, joyce has learned to be strong for your son michael, who suffers from a debilitating chrome someal disorder. but today the toughest part comes when the doctor visit ends. when she has to show the family's new medicaid card. >> medicaid? >> yes. >> we're all set. >> when they say medicaid it feels like the loudest voice in the entire room, and the entire world knows, your kid is on medicaid. i'm grateful for it, but it's still so humbling. >> but that's not the only help the family needs. they're also now on food stamps. here joyce takes her first trip to a costco with her food stamps debit card. >> i never thought i would be applying for food stamps. never thought i wouldn't be able

to feed my kids on my own. >> in 2008, fewer than 7,000 people received food assistance in boulder county. today that number has exploded to almost 17,000. a 150% increase. joyce knows she's not alone. but she feels like it. >> we live in superior colorado and feel like the only person in this amazing place to live that's walking around with a card for food stamps. i have my easy pay card. okay i've got this card and i know it's supposed to look like a debit card and i really know that nobody's supposed to understand what this is. but everybody knows. it's a card. and it's food stamps. >> thank you. >> have a wonderful day. >> you, too. >> joyce has intentionally chosen a costco a bit farther from home. less chance of bumping into someone she knows. >> i feel like i judge myself about it. i don't need anybody else judging me about it. >> how well have you hidden your

personal crisis? >> up until this airs? really well. i don't play keeping up with the joneses. but we don't hang out with friends as much. we don't have people over as much. it's not hiding necessarily what's going on with us. but it's withdrawing so that people don't know. it's this dirty little secret because everybody is supposed to be able to go buy the new car, supposed to be able to buy the bigger house. and what we don't talk about is people struggle. it's taking a toll. >> taking an emotional toll. >> it takes an emotional toll. it takes a mental toll. it takes a physical toll. there was a moment where i went, my joy is gone. my love for life, my ability to continue moving forward is gone. >> and then, things get worse. on february 14th, valentine's day, joyce's landlord notifies them he has decided to sell the house they've lived in for the

last seven years. now, lincoln is really feeling the heat. >> we're going to have to find another place. most people don't like to rent to people that are unemployed. i can't blame that for that. there is an additional pressure. >> it's like, come on. can we just have a break? can i just have six months of nothing chaotic or negative or no more shoes dropping? just no mountains to climb, just easy. >> my name is diane windemuller and i left a message for you several days ago regarding the vice president of human resources opening that you have. >> after nine fruitless months of searching for work, diane is barely hanging on. >> it's really difficult. it's tough. i mean i've been on the other side where i'd have to tell people no. and, yeah, now i get -- >> so far diane has not seriously considered anything less than a full-time executive position.

>> it's a difficult situation for me to talk about part-time work. you know, people make judgments about that. and maybe it won't see me as the professional executive that i'd like to be seen as. >> diane wants to be patient. knowing that a job like the one she had will get the family out of trouble immediately. at the same time, she has lost patience with her husband john. she thinks he should be more ambitious, and find something better than his current job. >> i always feel like you're selling yourself so short. you're like, oh, i could only do this. you know. it just feels like that. it bugs me. >> it seems like he's unable to move forward. and the lack of being able to move forward equals to me lack of caring. you know, lack of love. >> you know maybe i'm not the person that you -- that you want me to be, but i'm trying. >> i appreciate that. >> so, you know, i think in the end you need to determine if that's going to be good enough.

>> mm-hmm. >> so -- >> is that an ultimatum? >> no! i'm just making a statement that i'm -- i'm trying, and i feel like i'm upholding some of my end of the bargain. i'm employed. i have benefits. and i'm bringing in a paycheck. but, you know, it takes two to tango. so, we've got to work as a team. >> i have submitted my resume for some other things. >> but as diane meets with her hhs counselor, she knowles the pressure is on her, as well. if she can't find a job, her family is just two months away from potential disaster. >> my unemployment benefits may be running out shortly. and that may be the end of march. >> and that march deadline seems to be kind of a big one because that's when your deadline is for this program, as well. >> yes, yes the rental, right. so it all comes to a head. we've got to prepare for the worst and hope. >> the worst will come earlier

than expected. >> the balance remaining on your claim is zero dollars. >> coming up, big changes ahead for diane. >> i have to make some hard choices. >> and she does. >> i think that i'll be working from 7:00 until two o'clock in the morning. >> when "dateline" continues. ♪ the radical new macbook pro with retina display. ♪ innovation...in every dimension. ♪

i just -- i'm just trying not to dwell on things that are so painful and difficult right now. >> well, i don't think anybody can even start to understand unless you've been through it. >> on a february evening, in a sister carmen conference room,

anne huggins meets two other unemployed single moms like her. >> i hate it. >> but now we can't go outanymore. so i've made more homemade meals in the last two months than i probably did in all the years combined. >> congratulations. you're learning to cook! >> it was like, we were instant friends. i definitely was seeing that, you know, they're struggling, and they're making it. and i can struggle and i can make it. >> okay. >> anne has been networking and developing leads since the day she lost her job. >> you may want to do some self-exploration. >> sister carmen provided a resume coach free of charge to prepare her for job interviews. she has gone to several job fairs. and in january, interviewed for an administrative assistant position in denver. >> hello. >> the office supervisor calls her back, with a job. it's a temporary three-month assignment with no benefits and a two-hour daily commute. but it could lead to a full-time

position. >> seems like you're looking forward to retaining somebody permanently, and in that position, and the company needs somebody. i did feel that i had to take that job, because that job is available now. i don't have the luxury of looking around any longer. i don't have the luxury of saying no. thank you for that opportunity. >> for anne, compromise is a word. ten months into her own job search, diane isn't ready to compromise yet. she still wants that executive title, and the security it will bring. these days her mental break from the pressure is her monthly volunteer session at her church's soup kitchen. >> even in my difficult circumstance, i still have the ability to help other people. so i should do that. and i can. it gives me energy. it gives me hope. and i need lots of hope right

now. >> press two. >> but suddenly, a new crisis is brewing. >> the balance remaining on your claim is >> zero dollars. >> thank you for calling the colorado unemployment insurance offices. good-bye. >> diane's unemployment benefits seem to have run out a month earlier than expected. she calls a case manager to find out what's going on. >> she said well you're out of benefits, you've run out, hon. she called me sweetie. i could hear her chomping on gum. and she said you should have paid better attention to things. >> there's just one month left on the family's rental assistance. >> are you guys willing to consider an additional month or is that a no on that? >> no, i can't promise either way at this point. more things are going to have to be either cut back, or -- or find other ways to supplement your income with the unemployment running out, eight

months of assistance has been, i think, a lot. and i haven't really seen as many changes on moving forward as i guess i expected. >> right. >> okay. >> our caseworker kind of confronted me and said you have to look at your budget more closely, you have to make cuts, you have to make more sacrifices. we've given you all of this assistance and what has it gained you? >> i feel like at this point, might be living outside of your means a little bit. >> but i just want to have a way for normal she said. and she said but that job hasn't come yet. >> no unemployment benefits. no rental assistance. at home john runs the numbers. >> we would be in a deficit situation by -- yeah. probably $1500 to $1800. in the short-term we need to create, we need to create income. >> john thinks that now it is diane who has to step up and find a job. any job.

their marriage therapist agrees. >> i think there's an underlying issue for you diane. i think there's a reluctance on your part to do something that is beneath you. you know, you're highly educated. you have a lot of experience. and i think there is this bit of inner snob in you. >> i mean, if you were to get out and get a full-time job tomorrow that only pays what i'm earning at the running company, you know what? we would pay our bills. >> we would? >> we would pay our bills. >> for diane, john's sudden assertiveness appears to be a wake-up call. >> i was hoping that things would come together sooner. but, they haven't. so here we sit. and you know, i have to grow up. and i have to face some very hard facts and make some hard choices. >> let's see how it goes. >> yeah, uh-huh. >> hopefully it's very temporary. >> john has taken on an additional part-time job with an office cleaning company.

diane agrees to share the workload. her shift is scheduled for the same evening as one of her professional networking meetings. it's not something diane ever imagined would happen. but come 6:00 p.m., the former executive turns into a cleaning lady. >> so i think that i'll be working from 7:00, around 7:00 until 2:00 in the morning. >> it's 4:00 a.m. when diane returns to her car. >> i don't know. it was surreal. it just didn't feel like me. and it didn't feel like my life. and i kept thinking, there are people that are actually working jobs during the day and i'm seeing their office empty at night and that was kind of odd. that's how i'd like to be on the other side. i'd like to have a day job. it's disappointing, for sure.

for myself, and i'm sure, you know, my parents, john's parents. everyone. i feel like i'm letting a lot of people down. >> diane has hit rock bottom. she's angry at herself. and angry that she and john have let it come this far. >> working in these conditions that, you know, we can't sustain our life. it feels like a black hole that we're going into, and something that we can't climb out of again. >> in her anxiety, diane lashes out at john, who desperately calls their marriage therapist for advice. the therapist suggests a trial separation. and when diane shows up for an individual session a couple days later, the therapist has the papers ready. >> i was just in complete shock that it had come to that. and that she had to offer that to me as a solution, and that things had really gotten that bad. and it hit me hard in the face.

>> the papers sit on the night stand. >> right. they sit on the night stand. i don't look at them. >> but you know they've been there. >> yes. >> constant reminder of where you are and where things could be? >> mm-hmm. yeah. and what am i going to choose now? >> coming up, finally, some good news. >> it gives me new encouragement. more energy. it gives me the drive that i need to continue on. >> when "american now: lost in suburbia" continues. we're at chicago's renowned saloon steak house where tonight we switched their steaks with walmart's choice premium steak. it's a steakover! it's flavorful. it's so juicy. the taste...it's fantastic. it's probably the best steak i've had. only one in five is good enough to be called walmart choice premium. tastes like a five star steak. tonight you were actually eating walmart steak. are you serious? wow. scrumdeliumcious. tomorrow will be the day i will buy walmart steaks. walmart choice premium steak in the black package. it's one hundred percent satisfaction guaranteed. try it and check us out on facebook. aflac! ha!

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denver job are almost up, and so far she has not received a full-time offer. >> hi, it's very nice to meet >> so she continues to interview. >> how do you manage your time? >> including, at the sistcyssis carmen community center which has an opening for someone to manage its hundreds of volunteers. >> i'll be in touch at the end of this week or early next. >> hello. >> hi, anne, it's suzanne crawford. how are you? >> hi, i'm fine suzanne. >> i'm calling with a bit of good news. we would love to offer you the volunteer manager position. >> well, thank you very much. that's fantastic. do you want to get the two of you guys together? >> sure. >> the job is part-time and the salary is not quite enough to

overcome her financial troubles. but in anne's new normal, it's a positive step. >> i'm not out of the woods yet. but things do change. i'm planting seeds. >> more importantly, anne says, the job will give her a chance to give back to a place that has been her lifeline these past few months. >> here it comes. >> it's a bittersweet 50th birthday for anne. but it comes with a gift that cannot be measured by money. a new perspective on the importance of family, friendship, and a willingness to ask for help. >> i think that, you know, our humanity is what we show to each other and that's really how we connect. it's not necessarily about, hey, i've got this car and you've got that car and isn't that great? you know it's really more about, are your kids fed? are you sleeping at night? and how are you doing? you know, if you need some help, i'm here for you. >> and that's the same motto

that drives the staff of sister carmen, and government officials like hhs' frank alexander. as they struggle to salvage a vanishing american dream. >> i think when we look at national data, it's clearly seeing an erosion of the middle class. and our hope is for many families that they actually do transition back to some form of self-sufficiency and stability for themselves. >> how much can we afford? can we as a society continue to spend this kind of money to catch people when th're falling everywhere we look? >> i don't think we can afford not to invest more in our communities. because if we don't, we're going to have a generation that is stuck in poverty. >> you're an excellent packer. check you out. >> with just a month left before they have to move out of their home, the welch family still has not found another place to live. joyce has stopped hiding her family's poverty, and begrudgingly accepted she's just

another victim in an economic crisis beyond her control. and that, she says, is nothing to be ashamed of. even if you live in superior, colorado. >> people like me are on food stamps. it's people who want to go to work and can't find work and don't have an alternative. this is the reality for more and more people in america. this is the race of food stamps. my children are the face of medicaid. this is the reality. >> the family can survive on rental assistance and unemployment for a few more months. and lincoln is still optimistic he can find a job and get his family back on their feet. you ever fear in quiet moments that this is life -- this is life as, you know, you're going to know it? >> i do fear that. and i think that that strengthens my resolve. i will fight whatever i have to fight. and i will not stay here.

>> reality for john and diane could be a life without one another. their therapist has suggested a trial separation. but they decide they are not ready to call it quits. >> i think it kind of brought us together a little bit, ironically. we started using the term "we" more. we said, we can't do this. you know, there's too much at stake. we are stronger than that. we don't have to run away from it. so we're staying with each other. >> i think that that speaks volumes for your relationship, and that you still, you aren't done. you are pulling to the. >> mm-hmm. >> thank you. >> yeah, thank you. it was a wake-up call. for sure. >> and there is one more thing. >> and i'm very, very proud of you, diane, for getting out of your comfort zone and, you know, jumping in and going back to work. >> yes. diane has found a job. not as a cleaning lady, but in a temporary administrative

position at crocs, an international shoe retailer. it's not an executive job. but for a suddenly energized diane, it's a start. >> the fact that i'm actually out there working again, that's very symbolic and it gives me new encouragement, more energy. it gives me the drive that i need to continue on in my job search. >> diane and john, like joyce and lincoln, like anne, are determined to become self-sufficient once more. one step at a time. they owe it to themselves, they say, but most of all, they owe it to their children. if this ends the way we all hope it does, there's a pretty good lesson in this film. >> mm-hmm. >> they can look back to this and say mom and dad stayed together, they pulled through. they persevered. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline" sunday.