#TheStruggleToStay

In this episode of Inside Appalachia, you’ll hear the story of Iraq War veteran Mark Combs. He left Appalachia to become a comedian, trying his luck first in California, then in Colorado. Along the way, homesickness hit Combs especially hard. His story is part of our reporting projec "The Struggle To Stay," which has won national awards.

Student loan debt is a major issue for many millennials. A bill in Congress would offer loan forgiveness to West Virginians who want to return home, or…

On this week’s episode of Inside Appalachia, we’ll take a look back at the story of Mark Combs— a comedian, an actor and dog owner moving from West…

This week on Inside Appalachia, we talk about what brings people back home to the mountains of Appalachia. And we’ll hear about what happens when people…

This is chapter four of Derek Akal’s Struggle to Stay. In the first chapter, we met a young man from Harlan County, Kentucky, who thought a college…

High-profile confrontations between African-Americans and police officers have fueled racial tensions across the country. How do we in Appalachia talk…

"Jobs aren't a silver bullet," says Coalfield Development Corporation CEO Brandon Dennison.But they are a good start.Dennison's social enterprise has…

After going for a year unemployed, Dave Hathaway was back underground, working at a new coal mine -- the Cumberland mine -- in Greene County,…

The Appalachian economy is changing. In this episode of Inside Appalachia, hear from people who are switching careers, including former coal miners who…

This week we meet the next person we’ll be following in our Struggle to Stay series. 37-year-old Crystal Snyder is a single mother of two, who says she…