FREEPORT, Grand Bahama -  At 64, Sheila Glinton does not have many options to make ends meet, especially in an economy that has been limping along for most of the past decade.
Glinton works as a part-time employee at a cigar shop in the International Bazaar.
What little she makes, she said she uses to pay her rent.
"I don't have light and I don't have water, but I'm...just paying [my] rent and the rent [isn't anything] much," Glinton said.
She said she lives off food stamps and the help of close friends.
And according to Glinton - who lives in Eight Mile Rock - there are many more just like her in the settlement.
She said many people use drop cords to get power.
The economic situation in Grand Bahama has become a key issue ahead of the approaching general election with Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham promising to turn the economy around.
Progressive Liberal Party Leader Perry Christie is making the same promise, while accusing the current administration of failing Grand Bahamians.
Glinton's story is multiplied across the island, which has faced hard times long before the global economic maelstrom began impacting The Bahamas.
The island was hit by Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in 2004 and Hurricane Wilma in 2005.  Hundreds lost their jobs when the Royal Oasis Hotel closed in 2004, and despite the property being sold and promises that it would be reopened, it remains a symbol of the pain and hardships that continue to characterize life for many Grand Bahamians.
For those feeling the downturn most, it is literally a struggle of survival, and only necessities are focused upon, according to Bishop Reno Smith, a 24-year resident of Grand Bahama.
"Family outings are a luxury now," Smith said.
"People aren't able to go to the movies like they used to. They aren't able to go to fast food restaurants and just basically enjoy themselves."
According to the latest labor force survey released by the Department of Statistics, unemployment on the island stands at 21.2 percent.
The survey, which was conducted in November 2011, also showed that jobless people who are no longer looking for work (discouraged workers) jumped 42 percent.
According to Smith, because of the jobless situation, many Grand Bahamians are being forced to make the toughest decisions of their lives, choices that could literally be life or death decisions.
"I know of a family; both persons are retired...It's up and down with them whether they should take their medication today or eat today, and when you get to that state, man it's terrible," he said.
However, according to the prime minister, as bad as the situation is on Grand Bahama, it could have been much worse were it not for actions taken by the government to cushion the blow.
At a Free National Movement event on the weekend, Ingraham said thousands more jobs would have been lost had the government not pumped millions of dollars in direct investment into the island's tourism sector.
But the government continues to face criticisms over the state of Grand Bahama's economy.
Attorney Osman Johnson, who is running for the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) in Pine Ridge, said the situation is "quite woeful".
"The cost of living on the island is too high," he said, adding that attracting investment to the island can be challenging.
"Persons are scared away effectively by the high prices we pay for energy, the high prices we pay for fuel and indeed a host of other associated costs which bring the cost of doing business to a point where it is prohibitive, and who really pays the price are our people, and that's the truth," Johnson said.
He added, "We are suffering on this island tremendously and we have been waiting and indeed we are tired of waiting, so we are calling upon them (the government) to take action - enough talk; the people require action."
When The Guardian visited the once popular International Bazaar on Saturday, fewer than 10 straw venders were open for business.
One of those vendors, Valerie Strachan, said business is bad.
According to Strachan, buses with tourists pass the Bazaar daily as they make their way to Port Lucaya, but never stop.
"The only thing that will bring this place back are prayers," said Strachan, who claimed she sometimes goes a week without making a single sale.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian