Thank you for this story. I feel that the average person would have more empathy for the poor if they've ever experienced this type of situation. Happy to hear that there was light at the end of the tunnel.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/frontierhouse/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontier_House
It's an amazing show that really goes into how hard subsistence, self-reliant living is. At one point one of the families becomes so desperate for some relief that they sneak in a box spring mattress.
Most of the people I know who have very poor opinions of the poor could probably learn quite a bit by spending 4-6 months living on a poor person's time and money budget without the safety net of their otherwise prosperous lives. I'm sure some of them would sneak a credit or ATM card into production.
It'd actually make a great TV show I'd bet.