Nearly Half of Tri-County Households Strain to Make Ends Meet
By DJ Hampton II, President & CEO, Trident United Way and Katie Reams, (SC) Director of United for ALICE, Trident United Way
In partnership with the United Ways of South Carolina and United for ALICE
In our Tri-County area, roughly 40% of households (that’s nearly 128,000 households) live on the verge of financial instability, struggling to cover their basic needs as the cost of living continues to outpace earnings.
A family of four making $60,000 or less in the Tri-County is often just one medical bill, one car repair, one emergency away from slipping into a cycle of financial instability. Having to decide between repairing your car, which is needed to get to work, or paying a medical bill is an impossible choice, yet many of our neighbors are faced with these decisions every day.
ALICE®, an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, is a new way of defining and understanding the struggles of individuals and families that earn above the Federal Poverty Level, yet not enough to afford all their basic necessities.
We all know ALICE families. In fact, many of us are ALICE or have been ALICE. ALICE is our neighbors, our friends and our relatives.
ALICE is often employed full-time, or has multiple jobs, but is still living paycheck to paycheck without much financial cushion to fall back on in an emergency. And, unfortunately, the number of ALICE families is growing, not just in our community, but across the country.
While financial hardship spans all demographics in our area, for communities of color there is the additional burden of systemic inequities and the disparate financial recovery post-COVID, which has kept many from attaining or regaining financial stability.
The ALICE population is often overlooked because they don't fit into the traditional categories of poverty. While they are not unhoused or receiving government assistance, primarily because they don’t qualify, they are facing tremendous financial hardship.
In the Tri-County this year, the top request for assistance coming into our 2-1-1 Helpline has been rent payment assistance. This request was up 47% compared to the first six months of last year. Not only has this category received the most requests this year, it was also the category that had the largest increase in calls. The second highest request for assistance was another basic need for all households: electric service payment assistance. 35.9% of these callers have some source of employment (full-time, part-time or self-employed); 27.3% were employed full-time. 71.6% of callers identified as Black / African American and 75.67% of callers identified as female.
Let's be clear, these are not just statistics. These are real people, with real lives and real stories. These are parents who are working multiple jobs just to put food on the table. These are children who are going to bed hungry because there simply isn't enough to go around. These are seniors who are forced to choose between paying for their medication or paying their utility bills.
At Trident United Way, we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to thrive. That's why we partnered with the United Ways of South Carolina and United for ALICE to produce the ALICE Report, which will provide clear, measurable data to support resources and policy change for the ALICE population in our community.
This inaugural ALICE Report shines a light on the 43% of South Carolina households (including 40% of Tri-County households) who work hard but never seem to get ahead. This economic snapshot provides the United Ways of South Carolina, our nonprofit partners and community leaders with tools and resources to assist ALICE individuals and families as the cost of living continues to rise.
We know that the challenges facing ALICE families are complex, and there is no single solution that will resolve everything. We also know that we cannot afford to ignore this issue any longer. We must recognize the hardships ALICE families face, which are often invisible, and we must come together and commit ourselves to building a community where everyone has the opportunity to prosper.
Today we are urging you to join us in this important work. Donate your time, your resources or your voice to support ALICE in our community because, UNITED, we thrive.
To learn more please visit TUW.org/ALICE.
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