A Hidden America-Children of the Mountains 2009 02 13 (20/20)

A Hidden America-Children of the Mountains 2009 02 13 (20/20)

350mib / 40mins

In the hills of Central Appalachia, up winding, mountain roads, is a place where children and families face unthinkable conditions, living without what most Americans take for granted.

Isolated pockets in Central Appalachia have three times the national poverty rate, an epidemic of prescription drug abuse, the shortest life span in the nation, toothlessness, incest, cancer and chronic depression.

It's been 41 years since Robert Kennedy called on the rest of America to reach out and help the people of Appalachia. These are the descendents of Davey Crockett, Daniel Boone, Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline and the families of legendary soldiers and pioneers who helped open up the treacherous mountain passes and create an American continent. They are fighters steeped in family, ferocity and faith.

For nearly two years, ABC News cameras followed four Appalachian children, each one facing unimaginable obstacles. "A Hidden America: Children of the Mountains" is a continuation of Diane Sawyer's reporting on America's forgotten children. Sawyer won an Emmy for outstanding feature story in a news magazine for "Waiting on the World to Change.

More decription: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=6845770&page=1