a center of economic prosperity# driven by steel mills.
But like many communities that# depended on that industry,## Steubenville has struggled to find its# place in the moder even as the country as a whole continues# to see high growth and employment.
Judy Woodruff visited the small city in# Ohio to try to understand why many of its## residents say they feel forgotten, as part of# her ongoing series America at a Crossroads.
ANNOUNCER: This is a story about some people, some# American people who live along the Ohio River,## in a valley nestled amid three states,# Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
JOHN SAUNDERS, United Steelworkers# Representative: When I came out of high school,## you could pick wherever you wanted.
JUDY WOODRUFF: John Saunders# is a United Steelworkers union## representative who's been working in the# steel industry in Steubenv for over 40 years.
He still# remembers how it used to be.
JOHN SAUNDERS: People were hiring, and# you had opportunities to go wherever you## thought fit.
I don't think I'm going# to be around to see the heyday again.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Much has changed# since the glory years of the 1950s,## '60s and '70s.
Growing competition from Asia began# shuttering mills in the '80s, and the passage of## the North American Free Trade Agreement, or# NAFTA, in 1994 only accelerated that trend.
As jobs went away, the Steubenville metro# area's population plummeted from 163,000 in## 1980 to just over 114,000 today.
Saunders# says people in this region feel betrayed.
JOHN SAUNDERS: They're bitter their families# left.
They're bitter that they can't get their## family.
These jobs over the years were third,# four, five generations of the same families## working there.
Everybody don't live happily# ever after, OK?
There's been some real pain.
JUDY WOODRUFF: A quarter of Steubenville# residents live at or below the poverty line,## compared to 11.5 percent nationally.
And the# median income in Steubenville is $39,000,## compared with $74,000 across the country.
REV.
ASHLEY STEELE, Urban Mission Ministries:# So, you are in what we call ou where you can shop, choose# the items that you would like.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Pastor Ashley Steele at# the Urban Mission Ministries Food Bank## in Steubenville is trying to help# fill the gap for those in need.
REV.
ASHLEY STEELE: So prior to the pandemic,# we averaged about 10,000 visits to our pantry## throughout an entire year.
During the height# of the pandemic, we were over 33,000 visits.
JUDY WOODRUFF: But it sounds like you still# have a large number of people to serve.
REV.
ASHLEY STEELE: Yes, we will# exceed that number this year.
JUDY WOODRUFF: The poverty here has had a dramatic# effect on the All of the downtown area is defined as a food# desert by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
And on the south side of town, life expectancy# is 17 years below the national average.
James and## Lisa Bogo have two children aged 2 and 16.
They# rely on food assistance from the Urban Mission## to feed their young family.
They say inflation# has made it difficult to afford necessities.
LISA BOGO, Parent: Food pantries, you# know, they're helping a lot.
And it's## sad because he works hard, very hard.# And I might stay at home with them,## but, at one point, I was working# too.
And it still wasn't enough.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Despite the fact that# federal grants provide 10 percent of## the food here and 30 percent of# the Urban Mission's shelter budget,## people here are frustrated by a feeling that# their struggles are being ignored by Washington.
One resident recently complained: "We're# the flyover country in flyover country."
Do you feel Washington hears what's# happening in communities like these?
JAMES BOGO, Parent: No, no.
No, they don't.
LISA BOGO: Not at all.
Not at all.
(CROSSTALK) JUDY LISA BOGO: Honestly, h but if you look at the world,# and you look at our country,## you see all these immigrant groups,# people coming in from other countries.
They get tons of assistance from the# government.
But what about the people## who live here, who are American citizens,# have been here all our lives?
You know,# we kind of just kind of get shoved to# the wayside.
It's almost we don't matter## enough.
Maybe our votes don't matter enough.# I don't know what the case, what it might JUDY WOODRUFF: Those votes# have shifted dramatically,## along with the city's economic# fortunes.
With its steel this used to be a Democratic stronghold# and a vital stop on presidential campaigns.
In fact, I visited Steubenville in 1976 to# cover candidate Jimmy Carter's stop here.## Barack Obama carried it narrowly in 2008.# But eight years later, and again in 2020,## Donald Trump won the county overwhelmingly.
And# many would like to see him return again next year.
JAMES BOGO: If Donald Trump takes# it, I think we will be better off.
LISA BOGO: When Donald Trump was president,# our area was not a JAMES BOGO: As bad as it is now.
LISA BOGO: People had gas.
Pe (CROSSTALK) LISA BOGO: Yes, it just didn't# seem people were struggling as bad.
JAMES BOGO: It seems ever JUDY WOODRUFF: I will have# a beer.
I will have a beer.
CARMEN DESTEFANO, Retired# Steelworker: Give me a Bud MA N: Bud Light?
CARMEN DES Over at th a longtime steelworker whose son Carmen# Jr. followed him into the industry.
CARMEN DESTEFANO: My son was lucky.# He got a job in a steel mill right## out of high school.
But right now,# he lost his job at Whe He went -- fortunately, he# got a job at Weirton Steel,## and he's laid off again.
Whether he's going# to go back or not, I can't JUDY WOODRUFF: Who does he blame# for what's happened in his career?
CARMEN DESTEFANO: You don't want to know# that question.
The Democrats.
Me and him## argue it all the time.
He blames the Democrats.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And what# does he say they have done?
CARMEN DESTEFANO: They have ru figure it out.
My dad is rolling over# in his grave, a staunch Democrat.
Me I'm a staunch Democrat.
My brothers were staunch# -- and my son is a Republican, I call him.
JUDY WOODRUFF: While many white working-class# voters have shifted to the right, 2020 exit## polls show that among all voters# earning less than $50,000 a year,## including all racial groups, the# majority went for Joe Biden, not Trump.
About one in six Steubenville residents is Black,## and City Councillor Royal Mayo says# his community has been hit the hardest.
ROYAL MAYO, Steubenville, Ohio, City# Council: I mean, in the Black community,## I mean, it's always been a struggle.
Ev It's sad to say, but just like everywhere else,## our unemployment was already twice# the unemployment before the downturn.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Mayo says all of# Steubenville has been helped by## an infusion of federal dollars.
The city won a# $500,000 housing and some of which will go towards# building an outdoor learning center.
ROYAL MAYO: It's going to# be right here.
It's going## to be a commun JUDY WOODRUFF: And he and others# are now working to secure a $50## million federal grant to redevelop# the north end of town.
But he says## many people here don't realize the# impact the federal government has.
ROYAL MAYO: I'm not 100 percent satisfied with# the Democrats too, but I shouldn't be.
I mean,## they're not there to just serve me, because# all my fellow Democrats don't agree with me## on every point.
But there needs to# be a middle ground that Democrats## and Republicans alike can agree on to# get some things done for the people.
CHANDLER HOFFMAN, Student: Half my# day is college credit-plus classes.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Oh, OK. JUDY WOODRUFF: The hope for better days# ahead is shared by Chandler Hoffman,## a junior on the high school football# team who plans to attend college.
CHANDLER HOFFMAN: I want to be a civil engineer# or a mechanical engineer.
I think I will come## back to this place after college.
It's like a# home to me.
I really don't want to JUDY WOODRUFF: With 20 million# federal dollars in pandemic aid,## his high school is now constructing a new science,# technology, engineering and math bui On a damp Friday night just before Halloween,## the Steubenville Big Red had their first# playoff game.
Chandler, an offens took the field.
The final score, 42-0# Steubenville, a welcome victory for a## city that feels it's missed out on its share# of wins and would love to turn that around.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Judy# Woodruff in Steubenville, Ohio.