The following story first appeared in the Summer 1999 Glenmary Challenge.
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Can You See the New Face of the Poor?
With discount-store fashions camouflaging their insecurities and worries, the rural poor walk by and nobody notices them. 
By Father John S. Rausch

Traveling rural roads in Appalachia and the South, visitors notice satellite dishes next to trailers and newer-than-jalopy cars parked nearby. Few residents appear thread-bare or emaciated. Life in rural America looks like life in Anywhere, U.S.A.

Old images of rural poverty—run-down shacks, toothless grins—frequently cloud our ability to see the more subtle expressions of rural poverty today. The shack on the back road has become a mobile home that rusts out and fully depreciates in 20 years. The satellite dish, bought on time, may no longer function. Bib overalls, comfortable for the fields, fail the dress code for a low-wage manufacturing job.

Rural poverty today wears a subtle face etched with the lines of personal struggle and the wrinkles of an economic system indifferent to the needs of the poor. Here are some of the real people who wear that face:

Donna chokes back tears as she tells how her six-year marriage ended in divorce recently. A hideous knife scar nearly the length of her left forearm testifies to the life of violence she knew as marriage. Unable to focus her life, Donna moved from friend to friend, wearing thin her welcome. The seductive urge of suicide stalked her when friends at her third residence finally asked her to leave. Penniless and depressed, Donna found herself homeless in a small town.

Homelessness frequently evokes urban images of men sleeping in doorways. Rural homelessness, however, evades radar like a stealth fighter. It is the “overcrowding” in a relative’s home when hard luck hits. Or the families sleeping in campgrounds or cars while looking for work. At least 20 percent of homeless children are not in school because they move too frequently, lack proper clothing, have unmet emotional or medical needs, or must care for a sibling.

Theresa lost her job because of tendonitis in both wrists. She entered college, determined to find a career, after separating from her husband; she knew from experience that a minimum wage job can never pay the bills. With a 12-year-old daughter, she is struggling to maintain a 3.5 grade-point average and work part-time.

Rural areas typically attract industries paying low or minimum wages. Yet the expense of child care frequently grabs 25 percent of a $1,200 monthly income. In Kentucky’s 14 poorest counties, more than 20 percent of residents like Theresa lack a private vehicle and more than 13 percent have no phone.

Andy and Norma work the flea markets selling crafted items they make in their small woodworking shop. Since they have no credit, they go to a rent-to-own to buy all their major purchases. For $70 a month they took home a 19-inch TV and a VCR. After a number of months, the rent-to-own designated them as preferred customers and invited them to purchase an additional appliance. Norma needed a washer, but the financial burden began to strain their budget. They finally returned the merchandise with only three payments to go but lost their entire investment.

People without credit have few economic options. Unable to get a bank loan, they frequent check-cashing outlets and rent-to-own businesses that charge usurious interest rates. The slippery slope of debt easily leads to falling behind on rent and utilities. Shopping at Wal-Mart becomes a luxury. Instead, they buy cheap household items at dollar stores or thrift shops–or go without.

Yet many rural poor don’t look poor because of the truckloads of used clothing—many with designer labels—that clog the thrift shops of churches and charitable organizations. But despite the fashionable clothing, the rural poor are among the 43 million Americans who lack health care, and they suffer disproportionately from diabetes because of poor diet.

They labor for low or minimum wages and get trapped in part-time or temporary employment. They live pay check to pay check and pray nothing breaks down. When they walk through town, their discount fashions camouflage their insecurities and worries.

And nobody notices them.