one of every five West Virginians is poor, including a lot of people's

attendants. This year's Kids Count Databook compiled a list of

opportunities and services from which poor families are often excluded.

Inspired by the Kids Count report, five Gazette writers picked one topic

each - banking, transportation, computers, education and recreation - to

explore in coming weeks in the Gazette's Community section.

This week, staff writer Susan Williams explores the trials of working

people in search of a simple checking account.

Poverty ties in with all kinds of social ills - low grades in

But poverty is about more than money. Poor people can't get at the

opportunities and services middle-class Americans take for granted.

So the poor often sink into a cycle of day-to-day survival, which

ensures that their children will be poor too.

In West Virginia, 360,000 people live below the poverty line, which

means they make less than $14,150 a year for a family of three. That means

one of every five West Virginians is poor, including a lot of people's

attendants. This year's Kids Count Databook compiled a list of

opportunities and services from which poor families are often excluded.

Inspired by the Kids Count report, five Gazette writers picked one topic

each - banking, transportation, computers, education and recreation - to

explore in coming weeks in the Gazette's Community section.

This week, staff writer Susan Williams explores the trials of working

people in search of a simple checking account.