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In Texas Financial Hardship a Study of Alice

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In Texas Financial Hardship a Study of Alice ALICE: A STUDY OF 2018 FINANCIAL HARDSHIP REPORT IN TEXAS United Ways of Texas United Way of Greater Houston THE UNITED WAYS OF TEXAS Aransas County United Way Brown County United Way Cooke County United Way Dallam-Hartley Counties United Way Erath County United Way Forney Area United Way Graham Area United Way Greater Ennis United Way Greater Longview United Way Guadalupe County United Way Harrison County United Way Henderson County United Way Hopkins County United Way Hutchinson County United Way Kerr County United Way Lubbock Area United Way Matagorda County United Way Nacogdoches Area United Way Nolan County United Way North Texas Area United Way Ochiltree United Way Pampa United Way Plainview Area United Way Rusk County United Way Scurry County United Way South Milam County United Way Terrell/Kaufman United Way United Way for Greater Austin United Way Galveston County Mainland United Way of Abilene United Way of Amarillo & Canyon United Way of Andrews County United Way of Angelina County United Way of Beaumont and North Jefferson County United Way of Big Spring & Howard County i United Way of Brazoria County United Way of Midland United Way of Calhoun County United Way of Moore County United Way of Central Texas United Way of Navarro County United Way of Comal County United Way of Northern Cameron County United Way of Deaf Smith County United Way of Odessa United Way of Denton County United Way of Orange County United Way of East/Central Texas United Way of Palo Pinto County United Way of El Paso County United Way of Parker County United Way of Franklin County United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County United Way of Galveston United Way of Smith County United Way of Grayson County United Way of South Texas United Way of Greater Baytown Area United Way of Southern Cameron County & Chambers County United Way of Tarrant County United Way of Greater Houston United Way of the Brazos Valley United Way of Greater Texarkana United Way of the Coastal Bend United Way of Hays and Caldwell Counties United Way of the Concho Valley United Way of Hood County United Way of the Greater Fort Hood Area United Way of Hunt County United Way of Val Verde County United Way of Jackson County United Way of Waco-McLennan County United Way of Johnson County United Way of West Ellis County United Way of Lamar County United Way of Williamson County United Way of Laredo United Way of Wise County United Way of Metropolitan Dallas Victoria County United Way United Way of Mid & South Jefferson County United Ways of Texas and United Way of Greater Houston are proud to sponsor this Report. Learn more here: https://www.uwtexas.org/alice-texas Entergy is proud to sponsor the printing of the Texas ALICE report. NATIONAL ALICE ADVISORY COUNCIL The following companies are major funders and supporters of this work: Aetna Foundation Alliant Energy AT&T Atlantic Health System Deloitte Entergy Johnson & Johnson KeyBank Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation OneMain Financial RWJBarnabas Health Thrivent Financial Foundation Union Bank & Trust UPS U.S. Venture ii ALICE: A GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT This body of research provides a framework, language, and tools to measure and understand the struggles of a population called ALICE — an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. ALICE represents the growing number of households in our communities that do not earn enough to afford basic necessities. This research initiative partners with United Ways, foundations, academic institutions, corporations, and other state organizations to present data that can stimulate meaningful discussion, attract new partners, and ultimately inform strategies for positive change. Based on the overwhelming success of this research in identifying and articulating the needs of this vulnerable population, this work has grown from a pilot in Morris County, New Jersey in 2009, to the entire state of New Jersey in 2012, and now to 18 states. United Ways of Texas are proud to join the more than 540 United Ways in these states that are working to better understand ALICE’s struggles. Organizations across the country are also using this data to address the challenges and needs of their employees, customers, and communities. The result is that ALICE is rapidly becoming part of the common vernacular, appearing in the media and in public forums discussing financial hardship in communities nationwide. Together, United Ways, government agencies, nonprofits, and corporations have the opportunity to evaluate current initiatives and discover innovative approaches that give ALICE a voice, and create changes that improve life for ALICE and the wider community. To access reports from all states, visit UnitedWayALICE.org States With ALICE Reports North Dakota Montana Minnesota Washington New Hampshire Vermont Maine South Dakota Wisconsin Oregon Idaho Wyoming Michigan New York Massachusetts Iowa Nebraska Pennsylvania Rhode Island Illinois Indiana Ohio Connecticut Nevada Utah New Jersey Colorado West Kansas Delaware Missouri Virginia Kentucky Virginia Maryland California District of Oklahoma Tennessee North Columbia Arkansas Carolina Arizona New Mexico Georgia Texas South Carolina Alabama Florida Louisiana Mississippi Alaska Hawai‘i iii THE ALICE RESEARCH TEAM ALICE Reports provide high-quality, research-based information to foster a better understanding of who is struggling in our communities. To produce the ALICE Report for Texas, a team of researchers collaborated with a Research Advisory Committee, composed of 13 representatives from across Texas, who advised and contributed to the report. This collaborative model, practiced in each state, ensures each report presents unbiased data that is replicable, easily updated on a regular basis, and sensitive to local context. Working closely with United Ways, this research initiative seeks to equip communities with information to create innovative solutions. Lead Researcher Stephanie Hoopes, Ph.D., is the lead researcher, director, and author of the ALICE Reports. Dr. Hoopes began this effort with a pilot study of a more accurate way to measure financial hardship in Morris County, New Jersey in 2009. Since then, she has overseen its expansion into a broad-based, state-by-state research initiative now spanning 18 states across the country. Her research on the ALICE population has garnered both state and national media attention. Before joining United Way full time in 2015, Dr. Hoopes taught at Rutgers University and Columbia University. Dr. Hoopes has a doctorate from the London School of Economics, a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College. Dr. Hoopes is on the board of directors of the McGraw-Hill Federal Credit Union, and she received a resolution from the New Jersey General Assembly for her work on ALICE in 2016. Research Support Team Andrew Abrahamson Madeline Leonard Dan Treglia, Ph.D. ALICE Research Advisory Committee for Texas Erin Brackney Kremkus, M.S.W., Jeffrey Hatala, Ph.D., Heath Prince, Ph.D., OneStar Foundation Texas A&M University Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, University of Frances Deviney, Ph.D., Roy Lopez Texas at Austin Center for Public Policy Priorities Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Eugene W. Wang, Ph.D., Monica Faulkner, Ph.D., Paul McGaha, D.O., M.P.H., Texas Tech University University of Texas at Austin UT Health Science Center at Tyler Jie Wu Garrett Groves Laura McKiernan, Dr.P.H., Kinder Institute for Urban Research, Austin Community College District UT School of Public Health, Rice University San Antonio Parker Harvey Workforce Solutions – Gulf Coast Cynthia Osborne, Ph.D., Workforce Board LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin iv LETTER TO THE COMMUNITY Dear Texans, You may not realize it, but you already know ALICE. We see ALICE every day – hard workers who keep the Texas economy running. We find ALICE working behind cash registers, serving us in restaurants and retail stores, and caring for our young and elderly. They are our friends, family, and people we rely on every day. Yet they aren’t always sure that they can put food on their own tables or gas in their cars. United Ways throughout Texas have come together to give an identity and a voice to people who work hard yet still struggle to make ends meet, people we call ALICE – Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. ALICE lives in every county, and every community, across the state of Texas. To provide a better understanding of ALICE, United Ways throughout Texas are sharing this groundbreaking Report based on years of research and data. It shows that 28 percent of Texas families are ALICE. Combined with households in poverty, this means that 42 percent of Texas families do not earn enough money to meet the Household Survival Budget that uses conservative estimates on monthly expenses for housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, basic technology, and taxes. ALICE represents hardworking families that earn enough to exceed the Federal Poverty Level but too much to receive public assistance. They live in the gap. Often, this leaves them one illness or car repair from a financial crisis. A goal in releasing this report is to inform Texas communities, policy makers, funders, coalitions, and organizations in order to more effectively help the ALICEs of our state. The data may help guide public policy or, as in the instance of another state’s ALICE report, inform federal agencies, like FEMA, in their response to ALICE families impacted by disasters. The ALICE Report for Texas with county-level information is available online at https://www.uwtexas.org/alice-texas. If you would like to contact us about ALICE, please email us at [email protected]. We ask that you read and share this Report to raise awareness of ALICE. Let it inspire you in a call to action to fight for ALICE and help them reach financial stability.
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