Children of Appalachia on 20/20

My sister and I watched an eye-opening show on ABC's 20/20 last night called Children of the Mountains. ABC told the story of a handful of children growing up in the poorest area of the country -- Eastern Kentucky nestled in the Appalachian Mountains.

These children grow up with parents addicted to crystal meth. Living on food stamps fruits and vegetables are a luxury. Most of these kids drink Mountain Dew rather than water, milk, and juice -- causing rampant tooth decay.

Central Appalachia has up to three times the national poverty rate, an epidemic of prescription drug abuse, the shortest life span in the nation, toothlessness, cancer and chronic depression. But everywhere in these hills, there are also young fighters filled with courage and hope. -- From 20/20

One of the most heartbreaking tales was of a young football star, Shawn Grim. To escape the alcohol abuse at home, Shawn lived in his truck and took a shower in the mornings at friends houses. Despite receiving a scholarship to play football at a nearby college, Shawn finds his classes and his poverty difficult in college, drops out, and returns home. It was hard for me to watch. See for yourself here.

In another part of the hills, 11-year-old Erica prayed for her mother, Mona, to beat her addiction to painkillers. "She's almost 50, and if I don't get her out of this town soon, then she'll probably die any day. The future, we'll never know about," Erica said.

Can you imagine being 11-years-old and feeling that it is your responsibility to save your mother's life?

I can't adequately describe the squalor that these people live in. This is a picture of Shawn's house -- no wonder he prefers to sleep in his car. Thievery and selling drugs is so overwhelming that some people lock up their prescription pills in a safe in their bedroom. Trash is everywhere. One family was burning tires in their yard to get at the metal inside to sell. They said they get $5 for every 100 pounds of scrap metal. That's a lot of tires.

This is a picture of Angel and her daughter, Mary. Angel is a recovering drug addict and she has no teeth on her upper jaw. She's 30-years-old. Her and her boyfriend walked 16 miles round trip to their Welfare-required GED course each day after putting Angel's girls on the bus for school. Her daughter, Courtney, is candid and says that they aren't like other people -- they can't afford food. She remembers the last time her mom's food stamps ran out and all they had in the fridge was butter and ranch. They live in their grandparents house with a bunch of uncles and aunts -- 12 people in all.

Snippets of the show are available on the ABC 20/20 website and I urge you to watch. It's a sad story but an important one.