As many as 14.6 million Americans are unemployed, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. That means 14.6 million people have been dealing with the losses that come with unemployment: the loss of financial stability, of identity, and of their normal daily routine.

Emily Wright dealt with these losses for a whole year. She lost her management job in consumer marketing in September 2008 and didn't find another one for exactly a year. “It was scary,” Wright says. “Some of the others who were laid off didn’t know how they were going to be paying the mortgage that month.” Fortunately, Wright had six months’ worth of living expenses saved, and she received unemployment benefits. But her income and savings barely covered her scaled-down cost of living.

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