FOX VALLEY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – More than one-third of Wisconsinites are struggling to make ends meet, according to a new report by United Way Wisconsin.
The non-profit recently released its 2023 ALICE Report. ALICE represents individuals and households who earn just above the federal poverty level but struggle to afford basic necessities.
Thirty-four percent of households across Wisconsin struggle to afford the basic necessities of housing, child care, health care, food and transportation.
“ALICE stands for Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed. These are folks who are working but struggling to make ends meet,” said Trisha Witt, vice president of marketing and community relations for United Way Fox Cities.
She says the numbers have increased by 2%.
“When these things start to increase, we start to see more anxiety, depression,” said Witt. “Of course, there’s a lot of stress in that, trying to make ends meet.”
In the last report, there were more than 5,858 households in poverty in Outagamie County in 2018.
In the new report, that number jumped by about 500 — to 6,299 households.
In Winnebago County, there were 7,638 households in poverty in 2018. In 2021, that number also shot up to 8,257.
“I think what we see when we see increases in the poverty levels, or in ALICE, are increased food insufficiencies,” said Witt. “So, when we start to see more people going to the pantries for food.”
“We have seen an increase in each month over last year by anywhere between 25% and 50%,” said St. Joseph Food Program Executive Director Monica Clare.
She says the pantry is serving about 600 families each week.
“Yesterday, alone, we had 36 interviews,” said Clare.
Shelter is another problem that’s causing an increase in poverty levels.
“Lack of safe, affordable housing is an issue,” said Witt.
“The housing applications, especially in the last couple weeks, have really exploded and not really sure why that is,” said Jim Boem, executive director at Father Carr’s Place 2B in Oshkosh.
He says, on an average day, the temporary shelter gets three to five applications.
“And, lately, it’s been 12 to 15 a day,” said Boem. “So, we’re doing our best trying to find homes for people.”
Residents who are struggling are encouraged to call 211 and connect with community resources.
“Of course, in 2021, we were in the middle of a pandemic and there was extra federal relief coming to folks at that time that now are all expiring,” said Witt.
Witt says that could mean increased poverty levels on the next report in 2025.
Click here to view United Way Wisconsin’s full ALICE report.
