Who do we support and why?
The ALICE Community
ALICE, an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, is a new way of defining and understanding the struggles of households that earn above the Federal Poverty Level, but not enough to afford a bare-bones household budget.
For far too many families, the cost of living outpaces what they earn. These households struggle to manage even their most basic needs. Among those, is the cost of youth sports.
When funds run short, cash-strapped households are forced to make impossible choices, such as deciding between buying groceries that week, or signing their child up for sports. These short-term decisions have long-term consequences not only for ALICE families, but for all of us.
Despite the critical nature of many jobs to keep our local economies running – educating our youngest children, keeping our ailing parent safe – these workers often struggle to keep their own households from financial ruin.
ALICE is your child care worker, the cashier at your supermarket, the gas attendant, the salesperson at your big box store, your waitress, a home health aide, an office clerk. ALICE cannot always pay the bills, has little or nothing in savings, and is forced to make tough choices all the time. One unexpected car repair or medical bill can push these financially strapped families over the edge.
In 2018, eight years after the end of the Great Recession, 39% of Virginia’s 3,169,804 households still struggled to make ends meet. And while 10% of these households were living below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), another 29% — almost three times as many — were ALICE households: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. These households earned above the FPL, but not enough to afford basic household necessities
ALICE in Virginia