Things are starting to look up for people like Valerie Kinman. In mid-February, Ms. Kinman, 45 years old, got a full-time position at a company that charges people a fee to settle their credit-card balances and other debt, where she does clerical tasks such as data entry and light accounting. For two years, Ms. Kinman, a single mother in Plainfield, Ill., has been getting by on unemployment checks, food stamps and temporary jobs that never lasted more than a few months. “I’m so happy,” she said.
About a year and a half ago, Ms. Kinman was at a food bank set up at a local school, where she and her daughter were collecting free bags filled with items such as laundry detergent, boxed potatoes and pudding. “I don’t care what job it is, call me back and I’ll go to work,” she said at the time.
Today, Ms. Kinman still has almost $6,000 in credit-card debt. For the next few months, she said she would continue to lean on food banks so she could use more of her paycheck to work down her debts. “I have to start living in the real world, but I’m excited.”