The state line can sometimes present a challenge to those of us living and/or working on both sides of the line. What is readily available in one place might not be in the other and the processes and guidelines are often different.

One national entity has developed a few tools that are relevant and accessible to folks on both sides of that state line to help us better understand who among us is facing financial insecurity and to help those community members access available resources.

United Way describes itself as a “global network for community action” and most folks in the Dan River Region are familiar with the United Way of Danville-Pittsyvlania County who work with many of us here locally to advance to common good. What you may not be familiar with is their work to introduce us all to ALICE.

ALICE is an acronym for Asset-Limited Income-Constrained Employed. Often referred to by some as the “working poor”, households are considered ALICE when their earnings are high enough to put them above the Federal Poverty Levels (FPL), thereby making them ineligible for most public assistance programs but still not high enough to afford the basic cost of living in their county.

For example, United for ALICE reports that in 2023, based on the FPL, 13% of North Carolina households were defined as being in poverty. They state that this measure failed to account for an additional 29% of the state’s households who were facing economic hardship and reveal that between ALICE households and households living in poverty, an estimated 42% of households in NC are below the ALICE threshold. In Virginia, 28% of households were ALICE. When you combine them with the households at or below FPL, approximately 39% of households in Virginia are facing economic hardship.

The United for ALICE data tells us the situation is even more dire here locally.

In Caswell County, 45% of households are either FPL or ALICE, not too different than 2010’s 47%. Reviewing data first made available in 2010, Caswell saw the lowest rate of households that were FPL or ALICE in 2019 when it was at 40% and the highest rate in 2021 when it hit 52%.

In 2023, the City of Danville had an estimated 54% of households either FPL or ALICE, not much changed from the 55% in 2010. Reviewing data first made available in 2010, Danville saw the lowest rate of households that were FPL or ALICE in 2016 when it was at 51% and the highest rate in 2022 when it hit 56%.

In 2023, the Pittsylvania County had an estimated 50% of households either FPL or ALICE, quite higher than the 40% in 2010. Reviewing data first made available in 2010, Pittsylvania saw the lowest rate of households that were FPL or ALICE in 2010 when it was at 40% and the highest rate in 2022 when it hit 52%.

In both Danville and Pittsylvania County, poverty rates have remained fairly stable while ALICE rates fluctuated slightly with greater variance seen in Pittsyvlania. In Caswell County, the poverty rate has declined, while ALICE rates have increased.

Why Does This Matter?

We spend a lot of time talking about how we can best help those who are experiencing financial hardship, but we do not always clarify WHO we are talking about. When we only focus on FPL, we miss more than a quarter of the households in our region those who earn too much to qualify for public assistance, but not enough to meet their basic needs.

As we work to address financial hardship across the region, we must be intentional in remembering that we’re not just talking about those who are FPL, but also those who are ALICE. Suddenly we’re talking about half the households in our region, not just 15-25%. That changes our understanding of the issue, which changes the conversation, who chooses to b part of the conversation, and perhaps the approaches necessary.

You can find ALICE data and related tools for the region online at https://unitedforalice.org/home. What might we discover if we take the time to explore the data as it relates to various contexts? What would we learn if we compared the local ALICE cost of living data with the salary schedules for our organizations and local governments? What policy changes might we consider if we compare ALICE data to current eligibility requirements? Would this new way of getting a better look at who is actually experiencing financial hardships in our community cause us to adjust some of our expectations or assumptions? What can we do to make sure that ALICE is not forgotten?

How to Help ALICE NOW

There are countless policy changes that could drastically improve the longterm health and well-being of ALICE households, but there’s one simple action we can all do that would help ALICE NOW.

If ALICE were to call 2-1-1, would they find the resources your agency provides and the information necessary for them to access those resources? If someone else is working with ALICE to identify local resources, what will they find in our area if they visit NC211.org or 211Virginia.org. Is your agency and program information available and up to date? If not, ALICE and anyone else trying to help them, will have a hard time finding you. You can learn more about 2-1-1 and how it can be used across the region in this recent post.

Source: United for Alice