With a husband in perpetual sleep and a son in college, Huang Cuiying, 53, thought of suicide as an antidote three years ago.
Her husband had been in a vegetative state since a 2013 car crash, leaving behind a school-age boy and endless medical bills to pay. The financial burden worsened after her son was admitted to college, creating an extra burden for the de facto single mother.
But the despair abated in 2017 as care centers began to spring up in Huang's hometown of Zhumadian, Henan province, which offered free care and medical service to disabled people caught in financial hardships, liberating their families so that they could maintain a stable income.
The facilities are part of a poverty relief program launched by the local government to combat extreme poverty in the city. In addition, the centers also employ family members of disabled residents, letting them stay close to their loved ones without jeopardizing paychecks.
"Without such policies, I have no idea how could I get by," said Huang, who has been working for three years at the facility that hosts her husband and earns a monthly salary of 2,000 yuan ($283).
The innovative city government program has proved to have nationwide significance as China is working to lift the remnants of its once huge destitute population out of absolute poverty before 2021.
Officials said many of those who have yet to shake off poverty are seniors and people with disabilities who have failed to escape through conventional relief measures.
Local government figures show Zhumadian had 97 such care centers by July, hosting 1,770 disabled residents.
Last year, the program was recommended by the central government as a poverty reduction tool that could be copied by other countries. Furthermore, China Disabled Persons' Federation Chairman Zhang Haidi spoke highly of the program during a conference in May.
"With one relative in a care center, a family has relief," she said. "With one family out of poverty, warmth is felt by the entire region."
Zhu Songtao, a local resident whose widowed father is a longtime dementia patient, said he had lost many job opportunities in the past because he had to take care of his father. With the facilities, he could work in nearby construction sites and secure a decent wage.