Children Of The Mountains Analysis

We see pictures of poverty on the news from many different communities across the nation, but often, little of this news coverage is given to the people living in Appalachia. The ABC 20/20 episode entitled A Hidden America: Children of the Mountains shines a much needed light on the daily struggles people living in Central Appalachia face. Watching Children of the Mountains was a sobering experience for me. The most surprising thing in this video was the drug abuse and drug dealing. It was stated that the prescription pill addiction rate is two times what it is in large cities like New York and Miami. One man that was interviewed said that dealing drugs was the only good money to be made in Appalachia. As disheartening as that sounds, many people live day to day relying only on the money they make from dealing pills. The seriousness of this epidemic was apparent when they interviewed a woman named Eula Hall who runs a modest health clinic. When asked about protecting the prescription medications in the clinic, Eula explained without hesitation that she prevents theft by carrying a gun. Her …show more content…
Social workers were mentioned very briefly in Children of the Mountains, but a greater presence in rural social workers could benefit those struggling with obstacles in their lives. One excellent program that was mentioned in the video was the welfare mandated GED program. Ideally that program could help a lot of people, but it is not accessible to everyone. Those without transportation, like Angel and Bill, had to walk 8 miles one way, into town for the program. If there were a method of public transportation, such as a shuttle bus, to get people into town, more people might utilize the GED program. If the state or federal government would supply the vehicle, they could hire local drivers