Whenever the economy has tanked, Keith McDonough and his family have had to deal with the fallout.

When the bread industry left Pittsburgh, McDonough lost his job of 23 years as a delivery driver. When the car industry crashed after 9/11, McDonough lost his job again. This year was no different: McDonough, 51, of Pleasant Hills was laid off in March, just after he was made a welder's trainee.

"It's very uncomfortable. It's comfortable while you're working, but when the end comes up, you start getting a little panicky and you grab at anything you can get," McDonough said. When he was hired, "I was dancing in the streets. I really believed then, as I do now, I'm finally walking a more sure ground, more confident ground for myself."

The belief comes, in part, because of his participation in Community College of Allegheny County program designed to help laid-off workers.

Read more: Pittsburgh Tribune Review