The New Homeless: A Young Widowed Mom's Bleak Christmas in Camden

Earlier this year, the National Alliance to End Homelessness estimated that 1.5 million people would be made homeless over the next two years as a result of the recession. In this series of profiles, DailyFinance speaks with some of the people who have fallen victim to layoffs, foreclosure, unforgiving creditors and plain old bad financial luck. Here are their stories.

Jennifer Paul and her nine-year-old daughter Alyssa are trying %%DynaPub-Enhancement class="enhancement contentType-HTML Content fragmentId-1 payloadId-61603 alignment-right size-small"%%to make the most of things this holiday season. Since October, the two have been living in the Anna Sample House, the biggest shelter for families in Camden, N.J. -- one of America's most downtrodden cities.