Stories of Poverty

John and Sandy Struznik, Polk, Iowa

Interview By Sasha Abramsky | Posted Sunday June 24, 2012

John Struznik’s grandfather was a Bonus Army marcher during the Great Depression. Eighty years later, John and his wife are both unemployed, victims of the Great Recession. They have battled their bank for several years to avoid a foreclosure on their home—being bounced from one 1-800 number to the next; avoided being evicted only with the help of an activist group in Des Moines called the Iowa Center for Community Improvement; and finally managed to get their loan modified after taking their case all the way to the state’s Attorney General. A cancer patient, Sandy is old enough to qualify for Medicare, but she cannot afford the premiums for the parts of the Medicare program that cover doctor’s visits and medications. Faced with having only catastrophic health coverage, she goes to local free clinics and prays her health doesn’t further deteriorate.

Tags: healthcare, housing, iowa, unemployment
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