ALICE report by United Way Depicts Depth of Poverty in NJ

ALICE report by United Way Depicts Depth of Poverty in NJ

A comprehensive report by the United Way entitled “Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed” or ALICE, was recently published. The report refers to the group of families that do not live below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) in NJ, which hovers around 11% statewide on average. Obviously, this number fluctuates depending on your zip code. But rather the 27% of families that despite being employed, cannot afford the basic necessities of life; housing, food, transportation, health care and various misc. items critical to survival. Add these two groups together and you have 38%, or more than one third of New Jersey families unable to afford the basic necessities in life. This number skyrockets in cities.

In Newark, for example, 28% of families live below the Federal Poverty Level. Even if the ALICE families stayed at the statewide average of 27%, which is unlikely, this would still mean that over half of the families living in Newark today cannot afford the basic necessities to survive. Let that sink in for a minute. 

Here is the link to the whole report. I’ll be circling back to this issue and what effects it has on families and communities. http://www.unitedwayalice.org/documents/16UW%20ALICE%20Report_NJUpdate_Lowres_12.13.16.pdf

What do you think?