It's a sobering marker of the economic meltdown: One of every seven Americans is now living in poverty, according to a new analysis released by the Census Bureau Thursday morning.
Few places in New England have felt this economy worse than Lawrence, a poor city even in good times. The recession's killed hundreds of badly needed jobs here and spawned a crisis of foreclosed and abandoned homes.
Pastor Victor Jarvis sees it in his 300-person Ebenezer Church on Haverhill Street. "Many of our people are suffering. Some of them come and say, 'Pastor, I'm losing my house,' or some come crying, 'I have to give up my car because I'm not able to pay.' ''
He understands all too well how the nation has hit a depressing new milestone of one-seventh of Americans, as of the end of 2009, officially in poverty.
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