While the national recession has hit middle-income and poor families hardest, many folks that were once financially secure are also dealing with the daily sacrifices required to stay afloat in an increasingly stratified country. WTTW's Chicago Tonight profiled one such family on Monday night.  After losing well-paying jobs in the last decade, this Arlington Heights couple is living hand to mouth, relying almost entirely on unemployment insurance to cover their bills. Here is an excerpt from their story (you can watch the full segment here):

Additional help from Washington might be on the way shortly. While the details still need to be worked out, aides told Reuters yesterday that the Senate could vote on an unemployment insurance extension within days. Meanwhile, the White House pushed lawmakers yesterday to strike a deal that press secretary Robert Gibbs said would "ensure that those that have fallen on hard times and have lost their job have the benefits they need to provide for their families."

As evidenced by our own comments section, there are plenty of people out there searching for information on how to access benefits and other safety net programs. If you're still unsure about how the process works after filtering through our posts, head on over to Benefit Wiki, a new project created by the good folks at Open Congress. Avelino Maestas explains just what the new site has to offer:

Users can find, and more importantly add, information about unemployment benefits in their state. They can also view information about organizations offering assistance and services, different training and education opportunities, and even locations for free health clinics or flu shots.