Jim and Maria Copeland live in Bettendorf, Iowa, with their three children: Chelsea, 18, who just graduated high school and will be starting college at a local school in January; Samantha, 14, in junior high school; and Nicholas (pictured below), 11, who is in 5th grade.
Maria is a home health nurse, providing care for people who have just been released from the hospital or have had some other major health change. She was born in Iowa and has been a Bettendorf resident since she was five, and she's been a nurse for 20 years.Jim, who was born and raised just across the river in East Moline, Illinois, has been working for ten years as a supervisor at a plant that ships out tractors and other farm equipment. Despite their hard work, Jim and Maria still live paycheck to paycheck. Their youngest child, Nicholas, has a lifelong disability and their health care costs are huge. Largely due to their soaring health care costs, the Copelands were forced to refinance their house recently. They are hopeful about their future, but they do fear that they may lose the house if things don't get better.Tomorrow, Senator Obama will deliver a major policy address about the struggles of middle-class families and the need to provide opportunities for people like the Copelands to reclaim the American dream. Stay tuned.
Comments are closed for this post.
