14-05-2025
ALICE report reveals local households struggling to afford basics
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (WTAJ) — A report released on Tuesday revealed that nearly half of all households in Blair, Cambria, and Somerset counties live paycheck to paycheck, often without access to assistance.
The report comes from United Way of Pennsylvania and its research partner, United For ALICE.
According to the report, in 2023, 29% of Pennsylvanians working the 20 most common jobs—including personal care aides, janitors, cashiers, and waitstaff- lived in households that couldn't afford necessities like housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, and technology. These workers fall into a demographic known as ALICE, an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
'So what we know is that the ALICE population continues to grow. So since 2010 to 2023, we've had a 71% increase. And the overall number of individuals who are ALICE, across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,' Karen Struble Myers, President & CEO of United Way of the Southern Alleghenies, said.
Struble Myers said even though the data is from 2023, when 2024's numbers are released, she doesn't expect them to shift drastically.
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According to the report, the percentage of households living below the ALICE threshold or in poverty stands at 48% in Blair County and 45% in both Cambria and Somerset Counties.
Rich Lobb, the manager of the Moxham Food Pantry, said in the last three years, the number of people coming to the food pantry has increased by at least 25%. Some even refer to the area as a food island, because it doesn't have as many grocery stores.
'We restock constantly. When people come in, depending on the volume of folks, obviously. But we're restocking, from probably the first hour that we're open till we leave in the afternoon, late in the afternoon. So, yeah, it's a constant restock,' Lobb said.
More people are also spending money on housing, according to Struble Myers.
'We simply don't have enough affordable housing in our communities. So the solution to ALICE relies at the intersection of public policy, support in the community from the Philanthropic sector. Our social services agencies are working together. So it's really a public-private sector challenge even with our local employers,' Struble Myers said.
People who are in the ALICE demographic may not qualify for certain benefits because, technically, they make too much money. However, they can still rely on resources like food pantries, food banks, and PA 211.
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