ALICE® Awareness Week: November 14-18, 2022
Rappahannock United Way is bringing attention to the thousands of families in our area who are unable to afford the basics for survival, despite working.
Rappahannock United Way was able to provide direct financial assistance to 125 households (368 individuals) over the last fiscal year (July 2021-June 2022). Of those, 100 cases of rent assistance and 14 of mortgage assistance were provided to help maintain stable housing for these households. In addition, 10 individuals received financial assistance with car repairs and car payments to keep their vehicles on the road, helping them get to work and school. One household received financial assistance with their childcare costs to help keep their children in a safe and educational environment while they went to work. But our work doesn't stop there.
Join us this week from November 14-18, 2022 as we raise awareness of the financially vulnerable households in our area during ALICE Awareness Week.
Together, we’ll raise awareness for ALICE households in our area.
39% of Virginia households struggle to make ends meet.
29% of these households are ALICE.
ALICE® (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) is a way of defining and understanding the struggles of households that earn above the Federal Poverty Level, but not enough to afford a basic household budget.
ALICE is your child care worker, cashier at your supermarket, gas attendant, salesperson at your big box store, restaurant server, home health aide, and office clerk.
For far too many families, the cost of living outpaces what they earn. These households struggle to manage even their most basic needs - housing, food, transportation, child care, health care, and necessary technology.
When funds run short, cash-strapped households are forced to make impossible choices, such as deciding between quality child care or paying the rent, filling a prescription, or fixing the car. These short-term decisions have long-term consequences not only for ALICE families but for all of us.
ALICE might look a little different than you think...
ALICE in Focus Research Series
The ALICE in Focus Research Series takes this data to a new level, spotlighting the struggles of people in specific ALICE populations, including children, people with disabilities, and military veterans. The data places a new lens on specific populations in financial hardship — with a level of detail that can help drive meaningful change.
Check out the key findings and data reports from each research series listed below or visit the ALICE in Focus Research Series Dashboard to learn more.
- Nearly half (47%) of children in Virginia lived in households experiencing financial hardship in 2019. While 12% were below the FPL, an additional 35% — twice as many — were ALICE.
- While there are children below the ALICE Threshold across all demographic groups, 69% of Hispanic children and 67% of Black children in Virginia lived in households with income below the ALICE Threshold in 2019, compared to 36% of White and Asian children.
- Having working parents or guardians does not guarantee financial stability: 27% of Virginia children in households with two adults in the labor force were still below the ALICE Threshold in 2019.
- Children below the ALICE Threshold often lack access to resources ranging from stable housing and public assistance to education and broadband services. More than 620,000 children below the ALICE Threshold in Virginia did not participate in SNAP and nearly 243,000 had no high-speed internet access at home in 2019.
- Half (50%) of people with disabilities in Virginia lived in households experiencing financial hardship in 2019.While 15% were below the FPL, an additional 35% — more than twice as many — were ALICE.
- People with disabilities in Virginia faced substantial barriers to employment: In 2019 they were more than three times as likely to be out of the labor force as people without disabilities (52% vs. 16%).But even for people with disabilities who worked full time, 27% were below the ALICE Threshold.
- Among people age 25 and over with only a high school diploma or GED, 51% of those with disabilities were below the ALICE Threshold compared to 37% of those without disabilities.
- More than one-third (38%) of people with disabilities under age 65 living below the ALICE Threshold were not enrolled in Medicaid or Medicare in Virginia in 2019.
- During the pandemic, from July 2021 to February 2022, 41% of people with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold in Virginia reported feeling anxious nearly every day.
ALICE in Focus: Financial Hardship Among Veterans - Key Findings
- Of the 649,113 veterans in Virginia in 2019, 4% were below the FPL, and an additional 20% — five times as many — were ALICE.
- While there are veterans from all racial/ethnic groups in Virginia, economic inequities persist: 30% of Black, 28% of Asian, and 25% of Hispanic veterans lived in households below the ALICE Threshold in 2019, compared to 22% of White veterans.
- In 2019, nearly half (49%) of veterans in Virginia over the age of 25 had not completed post-secondary education. Of veterans who graduated from high school but had not completed post-secondary education, 34% were below the ALICE Threshold.
- Veterans with disabilities faced higher rates of financial hardship in Virginia: 35% lived in a household with income below the ALICE Threshold, compared to 21% of veterans without disabilities.
- In Virginia, only 60% of veterans below the ALICE Threshold and 54% of veterans with disabilities below the Threshold had high-speed internet access in 2019.
2020 ALICE Report
When COVID-19 hit, nearly 1.3 million Virginia households were already one emergency away from financial ruin — a 10-year record high — setting the stage for the unprecedented economic impact of the crisis, according to the state’s latest ALICE Report, released by United Ways of Virginia, in partnership with United For ALICE.
Over the last decade, Virginia’s low-income families systematically lost buying power and financial stability as the high cost of essentials outpaced wages, driving the number of ALICE households to rise 59 percent by 2018, the report shows.
HOW IS THE ALICE REPORT RELEVANT TODAY?
ALICE data remains vital to the story of our communities: the problems and challenges facing ALICE households now are the same ones we have been measuring, analyzing, and highlighting over the last decade.
DOWNLOADS
ALICE in Focus: Veterans - 2022 Report
ALICE in Focus: People with Disabilities - 2022 Report
ALICE in Focus: Children - 2022 Report
ALICE Pandemic Divide 2021 National Report
ALICE Pandemic Divide 2021 Overview
ALICE COVID Impact Survey Report
VIRGINIA ALICE REPORT 2020
Download a copy of the 2020 Virginia ALICE Report or visit the fully interactive United for ALICE website to create your own unique report.
ALICE Statistics in Our Community
2020 was a year for renewed and heightened focus on racial equity. The number of households in Virginia living below the ALICE threshold is 39%, yet for Black households, that number is much higher at 55% and continues to increase.
Poverty and racism have been inextricably connected throughout history. The ALICE Report shines a light on this issue locally and helps us more accurately measure and track the economic impact of that link.
Visit UNITEDforALICE.org/Virginia for more information.
Meet ALICE
Want to help raise awareness of ALICE?
- Read the 2020 ALICE in Virginia report, which provides data to understand the number of ALICE households in Virginia and how things have changed over time.
- Make sure you are following Rappahannock United Way on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube to view and share ALICE Awareness Week content.
- BE THERE FOR ALICE! If you would like more information about how to get involved with Rappahannock United Way's efforts to support ALICE contact: Sarah Walsh, Chief Impact Officer - swalsh@rappahannockunitedway.org
You can change lives by making a donation online. Every dollar fuels our ALICE Assistance Fund.