ALICE, a United Way acronym that stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, represents the growing number of individuals and families who are working but are unable to afford the basic necessities. We use these reports as the framework for our work in creating equity.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed our racial and economic shortcomings for all to see and worsened financial hardship for many struggling households. The 2021 Report, The Pandemic Divide: An ALICE Analysis of National COVID Surveys, revealed that ALICE families fared significantly worse than higher-income households during the pandemic — financially, physically, and emotionally.
The pandemic has disrupted longstanding patterns in how and where people live, work, study, save, and spend their time. The 2023 Report, ALICE in the Crosscurrents: COVID and Financial Hardship in the United States shows that the story of ALICE and the pandemic is still unfolding as this Report is being written, amid an ongoing health crisis and an economic and public policy landscape that continues to shift.
For more information about ALICE please visit www.unitedforalice.org
