ALICE is in the center of our United Way minds and hearts. We think you’ll benefit from meeting ALICE too – and pitching in through United Way to make a real difference.
Over a third of Wisconsin’s households are struggling to afford basic necessities like housing, child care, food, transportation, and internet access. ALICE, which stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, describes households earning more than the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) but less than the state’s basic cost of living, which the report calls the ALICE Threshold.
New statistics suggest improvement, with a shift from 38% of Wisconsin households falling below the ALICE Threshold in 2016 to the latest figure of 34% in 2018. The unprecedented financial challenges caused by the COVID‐19 pandemic have likely undermined some progress. Factors such as wage insecurity, disruption of child care services and barriers to working or attending school virtually, households below the ALICE Threshold face new stresses as the pandemic’s economic effects unfold.
“Even before COVID‐19, our ALICE neighbors were working hard to provide for their families,” said United Way of Wisconsin Executive Director Charlene Mouille. “The current crisis is only highlighting that despite this hard work, constant uncertainty and the struggle of financial hardship are the reality faced by more than one in three Wisconsin households.”
Thanks to our donors and Program Partners, United Way of the Greater Chippewa Valley will improve the lives of ALICE families and those in poverty by strengthening health, education, financial stability and access to basic needs. As individuals and families grow stronger, pressure to provide basic needs eases. United Way of the Greater Chippewa Valley staff and volunteers are intimately aware of the interconnectivity of these impact areas. To strengthen one is to make a positive impact on all of the others.
Explore with us! Grow your understanding of ALICE challenges and solutions by following the links below.
Please join us. Let’s Live United.
What impact does COVID have?
How does Wisconsin look and compare?
Understand the consequences of having to stretch.
Learn more about Chippewa and Eau Claire Counties here.