>>> millions of americans still struggle in a fragile economy, nowhere has a community seen a dramatic economic shift than the suburbs. since last fall, " dateline nbc " has been following three families from boulder, colorado. their middle class lives descend into poverty. joyce welch, a stay at home mom , living a comfortable middle class life in superior, colorado never thought she would have to ask for help. after her husband, a mechanical engineer lost his job and the family ran out of savings, she had to.
>> what ideally would be enough to make you breathe the most easily.
>> if we had enough to pay half the rent. i'm just sitting there going, i cannot believe i have to do this, this sucks.
>> joyce spoke to sara nelson at the community center , a nonprofit organization that provides financial assistance to low income families and helps them access public safety nets like medicaid, housing and food stamps . in 2010 , only 4% of sister carmen 's clients were from well to do suburbs like superior. by the end of 2011 , that had exploded to a whopping 22%.
>> your demand went up from 2010 to 2011 . the financial crisis started in 2008 . why now?
>> i think especially when it comes to middle class families their resources are drained. they utilized all their savings, their retirement funds and we're their last resort.
>> reporter: paying basic bills has become a struggle. even the grocery bill. so joyce put on a brave face and went to the sister carmen food pantry .
>> i'm thrilled and blessed to have sister carmen .
>> but you don't like coming back here?
>> i hate it. i want to be able to do -- i want to pick what i want to eat. i want to feed my kids what they'll eat and not have to worry about, but this is all we've got.
>> reporter: at least three and a half million suburbanitis have fallen below the poverty line since 2003 . joyce has had to accept she's one of them. do you ever fear this is life as you know it?
>> i do fear that, i think that strengthens my resolve. i will fight whatever i have to fight. and i will not stay here.
>> we'll show you what happens to joyce and the other families we follow tonight on "dateline." america now lost in suburbia, at a special time tonight 8:00, 7:00 central.
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