Stalled by Atlanta traffic and miles of thunderstorms, admittedly we were running late as we pulled up to the hair salon to meet Jill. But she graciously welcomed us in to the place where she spends more time than her own home, a beauty salon in downtown Dalton, GA where ‘freelance’ stylists lease individual stations to cut clients’ hair.

Born and raised in Dalton, Jill knew since she was just a little girl that she wanted to go into this business. But back then Dalton, the Carpet Capitol of the World, was a booming town… hundreds of carpet factories and stores created a thriving economy, propelled by the living needs of its tens of thousands of workers.

But the carpet industry isn’t what it used to be. As demand has gone down, a lot of the factories have closed. The local clientele for businesses in town, like the hair salon, has dwindled. Seventeen years in the business, Jill says she made more money ten years ago than she does today.

She finally had to drop her individual health insurance policy three years ago. The premiums were rising twice annually to pay for coverage that Jill, luckily healthy, never really used – and with her income taking a dive in the other direction, there was no choice.

Jill’s still healthy today, as far as she knows. Without insurance, though, she foregoes all preventative care. As a woman in her forties, she knows she should have regular check ups and preventative screenings, like mammograms. But when the choice is between paying several months of electric bills or getting a mammogram – well, that choice isn’t really a choice.

Listening to her clients talk while she cuts hair, she says sometimes she feels like she’s part-hair dresser and part-psychologist…but she adds, “now if only I got paid like one.”

del.icio.us Digg It Google Windows Live Yahoo MyWeb

comments (0)

Comments

Post a comment