The Great Recession has hit few places harder than Flint, Mich. A once booming manufacturing city in Michigan is now plagued by poverty, unemployment, and blight. Ken Hardin, owner of Ken Hardin Heating and Cooling, opened his business in 1965 and has endured Flint’s thriving growth and most recent dose of disinvestment, deindustrialization, and urban decay.
“Right now, this area is devastated,” said Hardin. “Flint has been nip and tuck all the way. While we are grateful for our regular customers and the reputation our name has established over the last four decades, things have been incredibly difficult here the last several years.”