WHEN ANDREA RUSSO lost her job this past summer, she needed money, and she needed it fast.
Russo, a single mother who worked for Microsoft out of its Cambridge office, was abruptly let go as part of widespread downsizing throughout the company. After the tech giant cut her position, Russo had to rent out her house while she and her daughter, a high school senior, moved in with a friend. Her son who recently graduated from college is taking on a greater share of his student loans than was initially planned. Russo has had to dip into her savings account each month to live while she continues to look for full-time work in a tough job market — and fight what’s been an exhausting battle against state bureaucracy to get the unemployment insurance benefits she needs.
Five months later, she’s still fighting…