ALICE in the News

May 2017 Watch this video at Comcast Newsmakers

By John Voket April 4, 2017 Are you living in a Newtown ALICE household? If so, Newtown Social Services may have some free money for you. ALICE, as identified by United Way agencies, is Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — basically a paycheck to paycheck household that may be one major car repair, illness, or other family crisis away from financial trouble. By technical definition, ALICE is a way of defining and understanding our families, neighbors, and colleagues (men and women) who work hard, earn above the federal poverty level, but not enough to afford a basic household budget of housing, child care, food, transportation, and health care. The United Way ALICE Project is a collaborative effort to improve the lives of vulnerable, low-income ALICE… Read More »Free Money, Enrichment Scholarships Offered To Newtown ALICE Families

By Rob Ryser March 26, 2017 A new program to help Connecticut working families struggling to make ends meet start savings accounts promises a $60 reward if they save for six months. It may not sound like a lot of money, but it might be just the incentive some families need to start saving, sponsors of the incentive said last week. “If you have a savings account and you have a flat tire or dental emergency or a thousand other things, you can pay for it,” said Shana Beal, director of communications for EARN, a nonprofit that has teamed up with Connecticut United Ways to launch the savings initiative statewide. The initiative is part of the United Way of Connecticut’s response to a special category… Read More »Incentive to Save- New program promises reward for families meeting six-month goal

March 28,2017 Connecticut United Ways are partnering with a San Francisco based nonprofit organization called EARN to bring a matched savings program to ALICE® (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) households in the State of Connecticut. The EARN Starter Savings Program is a six-month matched savings program in which individuals earning no more than 80% of the median household income in their region agree to save at least $20 per month and in return earn $10 in matched savings. At the end of program, they will have built up at least $180 worth of emergency savings. EARN reports that 80% of graduates from the Starter Savings Program continue to save beyond the six months of the program. Savings is a core component of financial health. A… Read More »Connecticut United Ways Announce Partnership to Help ALICE® Households Build Emergency Savings

By Karen Weese March 10,2014; Republished March 14, 2017 Nicole Larson was the kind of person whose smile always made you want to smile back. It was only after a while that it struck you: She always smiled with her mouth closed. It had been six years since Nicole last sat in a dentist’s chair, seven since her last full exam or X-rays. Childhood dental visits had been rare: Her parents’ low-wage jobs never had insurance, and after paying for rent and heat and food, there was rarely much left. As an adult, she worked long hours as a waitress and hotel housekeeper, but those jobs lacked insurance, too, and the meager pay always ran out before the month did. Nicole learned to white-knuckle it… Read More »We need to change the conversation about poverty and inequality. It starts with compassion and kindness.

January 19, 2017 In 2016, United Ways in Connecticut, released their 2nd state-specific ALICE Report. ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) is a household with income above the Federal Poverty Level but below a basic cost-of-living Household Survival Budget. A new ALICE Multi-State Comparison, compares data across 13 states: Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin, and analyzes trends effecting ALICE across the nation. ALICE lives and works in every town and city in Connecticut. The recently released ALICE Multi-State Comparison, reports that of the 38 million households studied across 13 states, 40 percent were living below the ALICE threshold. The 2016 Connecticut ALICE Update Report revealed that 27 percent (up from 25 percent in 2014)… Read More »United Ways Release 2016 ALICE® Multi-State Comparison of Financial Hardship

By Ali Solis and Eileen Fitzgerald January 23, 2017 This week we celebrated the contributions of a great American Leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The United Way’s recently released ALICE report raises the question of whether Dr. King’s Dreams for America are achievable in today’s society. The movement that Dr. King led was not only inspirational, but it was essential. We know that his voice is stilled today, but we must continue to heed his message. United Way’s ALICE Report provides a comprehensive look at working families who are struggling financially in 13 states, and found that at least 31 percent of households in each state could not afford basic needs such as housing, child care, food, health care, and transportation in 2014. While… Read More »Equality means dignity: Report highlights how working Americans struggle

By Mary O’Leary December 13, 2016 Connecticut’s income inequality remained the second-worst in the country behind New York, “a gap adding to the housing-cost burden experienced by low- and moderate-income families: like other goods and services, those who can pay more drive up costs. The United Way of Connecticut found that almost half of all jobs in the state pay less than $20 an hour, while two-thirds of those low-wage positions pay between $10 and $15 an hour. This is a problem as the amount of hourly pay needed to meet the cost of a two-bedroom apartment in Connecticut went up to $24.72 an hour from $23.02 two years earlier. United Way put out a report this summer updating ALICE (Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed)… Read More »Connecticut housing costs remain steep for many, but number of affordable units rising