Nearly half of Arkansas’ 1.2 million households fall below the ALICE threshold of financial survival. ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained and Employed, often referred to as the working poor. That’s according to new figures provided by United for Alice. A coalition of businesses and non-profit organizations came together to find long term solutions to the issue. That group is known as the Alice in Arkansas Initiative.
The ALICE designation refers to a growing number of people and families who work, but are unable to afford basic needs like food, housing, childcare, health care and transportation. Rebecca Pattillo is the executive director of the Blue and You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas.
As Daniel Breen with Little Rock Public Radio reports, she says Arkansas’ ALICE population has now risen to 31%, with 16% below the federal poverty level. That leaves 47% of state residents below the ALICE threshold for survival.
Patillo explains that “Seventy percent of Arkansas’ 20 most common occupations pay less than $20 an hour. And many of these workers are childcare providers, are cashiers, are health aids, are part of the ALICE population; employed, but unable to cover basic living expenses.” Patillo says a loss of pandemic-era safety net programs, like stimulus payments and the Child Tax Credit, have made the issue works.
The Arkansas ALICE coalition is now launching a new program called ALICE@Work. Coalitions members are expected to help develop new strategies to better support ALICE employees. More information is available online at ALICE in Arkansas at: aliceinar.org
