Interview By Diane Orson September 7, 2020
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Connecticut, 38% of the state’s residents were already struggling to make ends meet — that’s according to a new report by the United Way of Connecticut. The data, from 2018, looks at families living at or near the poverty level and those who live above it but lack the income to pay for housing, food, child care and health care.
They’re known as ALICE households — Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
Among the findings: In 148 of Connecticut’s 169 towns and cities, at least 1 in 5 households are below the ALICE threshold. The United Way estimates that it now costs more than $90,000 a year for a family of four with one infant and one toddler to pay for basic needs. And a big part of the story is Connecticut’s high cost of living, especially for housing and child care.
Connecticut Public Radio’s Morning Edition host Diane Orson spoke with Kim Morgan, CEO of United Way of Western Connecticut, and Latesha Burton, a mother in an ALICE household.
Listen Here: WNPR