ALICE is your childcare provider, the cashier at your supermarket, the gas attendant, your waitress, a home health aide, an office clerk. You might even be ALICE.

ALICE, which stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, is a new way of defining and understanding the struggles of households that earn above the Federal Poverty Level, but not enough to afford a bare-bones household budget.

These families earn too much to qualify for most government assistance, but not enough to cover the basics of housing, childcare, transportation, food and healthcare, let alone enough to save for emergencies.

When funds run short, cash-strapped households are forced to make impossible choices, deciding between quality childcare or paying the rent, filling a prescription or fixing the car. These short-term decisions have long-term consequences not only for ALICE families, but for all of us. The future success of our community is directly tied to the financial stability of these fragile ALICE households.

On August 24, the Mississippi United Ways Association will release the first ALICE report for Mississippi. Please join the press conference via Facebook Live at https://fb.me/e/3Fc8XLCFq and visit msunitedway.org/alice for more information about ALICE.

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