Former Middle Class Family Loses Sight Of The American Dream .

As part of our Bearing Witness 2.0 project, the Huffington Post is rounding up local stories of formerly middle-class families who are now struggling to stay afloat. If you or someone you know has a story to tell, please e-mail me at LBassett@huffingtonpost.com.

Heather Tanner put herself through law school, working during the day and attending classes at night, so that one day she and her family could move out of their two-bedroom rental apartment and buy a house. She saw that dream slip away in August of last year, when she was laid off from her job as an attorney and was unable to find work.

"Before I got laid off, they were talking about year-end bonuses, and I put in as many hours as I could so I could hit that mark," said Tanner, who lives with her family in Pacifica, California. "My husband and I were going to use that bonus as a down payment for our house. You go from dreaming about that house you want and having a backyard to not even being able to pay the rent on your apartment. My six-year-old will say things like, 'Mommy, you can have my money for the new house.' But the dream is out the window -- it will be years now."

As an attorney for an insurance defense firm, Tanner was making about $100,000 a year. Since being laid off, she has been working two hours a day at her son's school to supplement her $450-a-week unemployment checks. She told HuffPost that she is willing to take a job doing just about anything, as long as it's legal.

"I've applied for jobs at Target, Macy's, as a camp counselor. I've been on many interviews, but the comments I get at non-legal jobs are, 'Why do you need a job?' I mean, I have a family to support."

Tanner says that because day care is so expensive in California, she and her husband Carl decided it would make the most sense for him to stay home and take care of their two children, now ages 4 and 6, while she worked full-time to support them. But now that Carl really needs a job, he is having a hard time finding one.

"He's been out of work for seven years raising our kids, so there's not really a resumé to send out," Tanner said.
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