The Path to Stability:

We have challenged ourselves and our community to put 10,000 individuals on the path to stability in ten years. We understand that ALICE families and individuals need our help. By volunteering, advocating, and giving, Brown County United Way has committed to stabilizing the lives of those in Brown County who have a true need.

No parent should have to make the decision between childcare and which bill they will skip this month. No senior should have to make the decision about which medication they will skip today. No college student should have to make the decision between which meals to skip because they can only afford to eat once a day.

This is a systemic problem that will not be solved with one magic bullet. Our entire community must work together. Policymakers, academics, businesses, social service agencies and everyday community members can solve these systematic issues and put those living below the ALICE Threshold on the path to stability.

ALICE in the Community: 

ALICE families and individuals have jobs, but many do not qualify for social services or support. The jobs held by ALICE individuals are critical to the success of our communities – childcare workers, laborers and movers, home health aides, heavy truck drivers, store clerks, repair workers and office assistants – yet, they aren’t sure if they’ll be able to put dinner on the table each night.

Who is ALICE in Brown County?

• College students and recent graduates working and saddled with tuition debt
• Young families struggling to pay for childcare
• Underemployed – less than full-time work and no benefits
• Military – travel and demanding jobs
• People with disabilities – less income, more costs
• Family caregivers for people with disabilities and seniors
• Seniors – loss of income, rising costs, health issues

ALICE families and individuals can be anyone. Some demographic differences can influence the struggles of our ALICE population in Brown County. Often, technology is said to be the root of the split between “high-skill, high-wage” and “low-skill, low-wage” jobs. However, there are other factors that better explain job inequality in Wisconsin, including discrimination faced by women, people of color, and LGBTQ individuals.

Gender: In general, women’s wages are lower than men’s in Wisconsin. Men earn 26 percent more in both full-time and part-time jobs. Among the college educated, men’s wages grew more than twice as fast as women’s wages nationally between 2000 and 2015. While gender wage gaps narrowed during those years for people without a college degree, they grew among people with an advanced degree.

Race and ethnicity: In both earnings and employment, the difference between racial and ethnic groups in Wisconsin is are stark. Since 2010, White workers have had the highest median annual earnings and they have increased steadily, to $35,014 in 2016. For Asian workers, the median income in 2019 was 30,871 and for Hispanic workers, $24,116. African American workers have the lowest median earnings at $21,316, and have not experienced much improvement since 2010.

LGBTQ status: Differences in employment and wages are even greater for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) community. Despite having more education than the general population, these workers are more likely to earn less than their heterosexual counterparts, and more likely to experience financial hardship, such as poverty and food insecurity, as a result.

What the ALICE Report is NOT:

• Simply an income problem.
• A political position, but rather a body of data that helps us understand the economic realities of this population.
• A stance on raising the minimum wage. This alone would not help ALICE rise above challenging circumstances
• A finger pointing – or finger-wagging – to Wisconsin’s businesses. The engine of local economics knows that in order for their business to thrive, their community has to as well.
• An “us” or “them” report but an illumination of daily financial struggles many of us face – including those who fall below the poverty line.  United Way is invested in improving the community – and that means all members of the community.  While there are different tactics for different needs, United Way focuses on strategies that fight for the education, financial stability and health of everyone in every community – the building blocks of a stable life.

A True Need:

• By comparing real incomes with real expenses, the United Way ALICE Report revealed that 37.5% of Wisconsin households are living on the edge of financial insecurity.
• In Wisconsin, 37.5% of households live below the ALICE Threshold – 11.7% live below the poverty level and another 25.8% are above poverty but below the basic cost of living.
• ALICE households are working, but struggle to afford the basics of housing, food, health care, child care, and transportation.
• There are nearly 600,626 ALICE households in Wisconsin. Together with those in poverty (271,935), there are 872,561 households unable to make ends meet in Wisconsin.
• ALICE and poverty-level households represent more than 35 percent of households in most Wisconsin towns and cities.
• Despite working and receiving financial supports, ALICE still faces large gaps in the income needed to survive and afford the basics in Wisconsin, especially in key areas of housing (47%), child care (53%), and transportation (53%).