Have you met A.L.I.C.E.? Chances are if you are not ALICE yourself, you work with ALICE, go to church with ALICE, or maybe are related to ALICE.
ALICE stands for Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, and Employed. It describes almost half of the households across the heart of Indiana Region—which includes Madison, Delaware, Henry, Randolph, and Fayette Counties. ALICE households live just above the Federal Poverty Level and just below the real cost of living here in Indiana—which is also known as the Household Survival Budget.
The Household Survival Budget accounts for all basic needs today—such as food, housing, transportation, childcare, healthcare, a basic smartphone plan, and taxes. To create a more accurate understanding of the actual cost of living, the Household Survival Budget is based on location (state, county, townships) as well as the household size, and composition.
ALICE’s Household Survival Budget represents absolutely the minimum these families need to live and work today in their communities. In Indiana, 40% of working-age people (25-64) fall below the ALICE Threshold. Despite working, sometimes multiple jobs, ALICE is not able to meet their basic budget and often do not qualify for public assistance.
Many of those households are single-headed households with children. 75% of female-headed households report struggling to pay bills compared to 52% of male-headed households. And 51% of seniors ages 65 and older report struggling to make ends meet.
On average, 40% of Indiana Households are ALICE or live in poverty. Thirty-eight of Indiana’s 92 counties have disproportionately higher percentages of ALICE households than this state average. All five counties in Heart of Indiana United Way’s service area are ALICE or live in poverty.
In Madison County, 41% of households are ALICE or are living in poverty. Disproportionately, 47% of households 65 and older and 69% of black households fall into this category. Their greatest expenses are childcare, food, and transportation.
Between 2019 and 2022 across the country wages for many low-wage workers increased. As anyone who has been to the grocery store this last year can attest—costs have risen as well! Despite some gains in pay, ALICE has fallen even further behind than they were a decade ago.
United for ALICE is a nonpartisan, data-driven movement—for innovation, research, and action to improve lives of low-income workers. This grassroots effort is powered by United Ways across 31 states.
At Heart of Indiana United Way, we are making our community’s nonprofits stronger. We bring them together, help them connect, provide funding, and train them so they can help people better including ALICE families across our communities. We also support individuals and families to set and reach their goals for financial stability and growth. We don’t just want ALICE to get by; we want ALICE to thrive for a long time.
We need your support. Find out how you can be a part of making lasting change in people’s lives at https://heartofindianaunitedway.org/donate.