27% of Livingston Households Near or Over Financial Brink27% of Livingston Households Near or Over Financial Brink

9/2/14 - A local non-profit is hoping a new effort will personalize a persistent problem of those residents who work full-time, yet continue to struggle financially. United Way, in conjunction with Rutgers University, has developed a series of standardized measurements that quantify the size of the workforce in each state that is struggling financially, as well as the reasons why they are struggling. It’s referred to as ALICE, which stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. It is an acronym that is meant to represent the population of individuals and families who are working, but are unable to afford the basic necessities of housing, food, child care, health care, and transportation. Nancy Rosso is the Executive Director of the Livingston County United Way and says those families and individuals who fall into the ALICE category are those living paycheck to paycheck with no safety net. "These are the folks who, one failed transmission could put them over to the poverty side. They by-and-large don't have savings and they're working and struggling." She says that statewide, 40% of households are either below the federal poverty line or considered within the ALICE classification of living below the realistic cost for basic necessities. In Livingston County, that number is 27%. Rosso says the ALICE effort is mainly aimed at identifying a population of people often overlooked because they don’t fall into the traditional federal poverty guidelines, which she says is an outdated statistical model. The official U.S. poverty rate that was developed in 1965 and has not been updated since 1974 and Rosso says that the lack of an accurate measurement to frame a discussion has made it difficult to identify the extent of the economic challenges that so many residents face. The United Way ALICE report for Livingston County indicates there are more than 13,000 households living within the ALICE definition. When those living below the federal poverty line are added it jumps to nearly 18,000. It also shows that the City of Howell has the highest percentage of residents living in either poverty or within the ALICE designation at 57%, while Brighton Township is the lowest at 14%. Rosso says the release of the ALICE report represents a first step in a process to first identify an ongoing problem and then use that awareness to try and create solutions. You’ll find a link to a summary of Livingston County and the full ALICE report below. (JK)