Life In The Heart Land

Aging

Social disconnection adds some $7 billion to annual health care costs in our country. As our society has grown more mobile, the elderly are especially at risk for isolation, depression or abuse at nursing homes when their adult children are not present to care for them. We take a look at a variety of existing programs meant to provide the elderly with more fulfilling lives in their later years.

Aging

26m 50s

  • Veterans: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Veterans

    S2 E6 - 26m 35s

    More than a half million Virginians have served in the military, but many veterans report difficulty adjusting to civilian life after their service. They often struggle to make ends meet in their day-to-day life, but nonprofits work to provide them with food, community and supportive relationships with fellow veterans and assistance working through trauma.

  • Migrant Workers: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Migrant Workers

    S2 E5 - 25m 35s

    With many Americans unwilling to take agricultural work, farmers today rely on migrant labor from Mexico and Central America. The hard work and isolation can make life difficult for many migrant workers. In Nelson County, Vanessa Hale works with a bilingual staff to build relationships with the “invisible population” of migrant workers in the orchards and vineyards.

  • Recovery: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Recovery

    S2 E4 - 26m 46s

    Virginia has seen a spike in opioid-related deaths in the past several years. Counseling and other support centers struggle to meet the demand. We hear the stories of individuals in recovery in twelve-step and other programs as we explore the question of why addiction is such a hard problem to eradicate, by asking the people who have been through it themselves.

WETA Passport

Stream tens of thousands of hours of your PBS and local favorites with WETA Passport whenever and wherever you want. Catch up on a single episode or binge-watch full seasons before they air on TV.