Jane is in her early sixties. It is approaching ten years since she became divorced, an event that left her little support financially, physically, and emotionally. Since her divorce, however, Jane did attend grad school, earning a master's degree. She so hoped that once she was finished with school that she would find her dream job, a job that she would be passionate about, allowing her to put her knowledge and service to use. However, since Jane graduated in 2009, she has only had nine months of work. The rest of it has been a dark 27 months of unemployment.

Jane, still currently unemployed after her recent release from her latest job, is now wondering what to do. Though she has been considering it for years, the time is more relevant than ever to down-size, draw social security, and in the meantime, look for some form of work, work which will likely have low pay and certainly work which she will be overqualified for.

Jane is at a low point; she doesn't know what to do. While there are others in similar situations that she finds herself in, in many ways, she is the oddball. At her age, Jane should be approaching retirement . . . not looking for a job. At her age, she should have a home, with a family surrounding her. At her age, she should be capable of going on a vacation . . . as so many others do. But for Jane, none of these things are a reality. She does not have the "American" dream. Jane is . . . poor.

Last week on PBS, the show, "Need to Know," featured a guest speaker, the founder of The Financial Clinic in New York. The Financial Clinic helps people like Jane. Whereas some non-for profits only seek to educate people, The Financial Clinic desires to help the working poor in New York from start to finish. Not only does the clinic provide instruction (i.e. on how to manage a budget, on how to save, on how to pay off debt, etc), but they also help the working poor to set goals and provide accountability so that those goals are realized; The Financial Clinic helps the working poor through the PROCESS of becoming financially stable.

The clinic, while it has only been in operation for five years, has had tremendous amounts of success by way of their supporters, their staff, and their customers. Theirs is a program that seeks to freely help individuals who habitually struggle to make ends meet. Thus, this is a program . . . for Jane.

However, Jane does not live in New York City. She lives in the mid-west. The benefits of being able to attend the clinic remain unmet for her. So it seems, the doom and gloom continues . . . . Or does it?

When hearing about The Financial Clinic on PBS, I, the author, became enthused. I looked up their website. I pondered on their program. The clinic seemed a worthy thing to write on. Thus, you bet that I will be passing along this info to Jane, my friend, regarding the clinic . . . even though it is in another state. While doom and gloom seems to surround her, surely there must be hope. After all, even the clinic itself has hopes that its program will spread nationwide.