- It's really important for people to understand that ALICE is anyone.

ALICE can be your next door neighbor.

It can be your family.

It can be the child that's playing with yours on the playground.

(dramatic music) - It's kind of like that financial cliff where a lot of people are just right on the edge of not receiving resources because of their income.

(dramatic music) - We kind of call them the missing middle.

So they're not gonna necessarily qualify for SNAP benefits.

We're seeing a lot of folks, you know, the ALICE population that are coming in because they're having a hard time making ends meet.

- They're challenged with very difficult decisions every month.

Do they buy food?

Do they pay their rent?

Do they go to the doctor when they don't feel well?

All of those kinds of things are decisions that they have to make every day, and they're struggling to do that.

(dramatic music) - I think this is universal.

It's not just, you know, to one race, gender, sex, creed, religion.

It's a big issue that a lot of people go through, and it just, it's not talked about really.

We just go through it.

- In nearly every city or suburb, there's a financial crisis unfolding where cost of living is outpacing hardworking neighbors.

Today we meet ALICE, a name representing thousands of individuals that are teetering on that financial brink.

ALICE isn't any one person or statistic, but rather a symbol of an issue affecting millions who earn too much to qualify for aid programs, but too little to thrive.

From struggles like making rent to critical needs for community support, it's a life in the economic middle where every decision counts.

Today on Mutually Inclusive, we join that journey.

(dramatic music) (upbeat music) Of 4 million households in Michigan, data shows 41% struggle to afford basic needs like housing, childcare, food, transportation, and healthcare.

These households are identified as ALICE.

- ALICE is asset limited, income constrained, employed, and ALICE can be any race, any age, any gender.

ALICE households earn more income than the federal poverty level, but less than what we would consider a basic survival threshold.

These ALICE families struggle to make ends meet every month because they're earning more than to be considered poor, but less than they need to be able to live very comfortably and be able to meet all of their basic needs.

(upbeat music) - The US poverty line calculation system was developed in the 1960s and has largely remained unchanged.

In other words, poverty guidelines determined now are measured by the same metrics of budgets six decades ago.

While legislation has called for updates, experts say there's still a large gap in terms of income qualification for federal aid programs leaving a large population in the dark.

Can you describe yourself in just a few sentences?

- I am a parent organizer at a local nonprofit called Urban Core Collective.

I'm originally from Louisville, Kentucky, and I work in the community, community advocacy and social justice.

- [Reporter] Fredricka Brown and her family are living this experience.

- I went from before I got the position I am, I was at another nonprofit, and I lost my job, and so I was allotted more government resources.

I wasn't paying any rent at that moment.

I did have food benefits that helped us get groceries and things of that nature, and then we also received Medicaid services, which I still do, but as soon as I got my new job, everything, rent went up, and then my resources went down.

So I no longer receive EBT benefits, and my rent, my portion of rent went up.

So that's how it affected me.

So I can see the vast difference of resources, receiving resources and then not being able to get 'em.

- To not have a job and be, you know, financially better off than when you have one seems very backwards, right?

- Right, yes.

(dramatic music) - I think, you know, another really important point to walk away with is ALICE families are earning income.

They are employed, but often they're making too much to be able to get assistance.

And the ones that do qualify for assistance, if they get a pay raise, it will knock them above that threshold for assistance.

And so they live very precariously.

It's not a comfortable feeling for them and to have to make trade offs not only on what bills they're going to pay each month, but do I even take this promotion at work because it will knock me out of being able to get the childcare tax credits for instance.

- [Reporter] Despite growing wages in Michigan, the number of ALICE families increased from 2021 to 2022 because the cost of basic needs also went up.

Heart of West Michigan United Way's program the ALICE Project tracks these numbers in hopes of raising awareness and support for families who find themselves in the financial middle.

Its latest report says locally one in three West Michigan households identify as ALICE.

- What we see is for a family of four that the cost of basic needs, the needs that I described, food and and shelter, childcare, transportation, technology, healthcare increased almost $6,000 year to year, which is about 8%.

So we're seeing the rise in the cost of just basic needs of daily living for these families, and that's really the issue that's been uncovered.

What we've seen for senior households, and those would be households that are 65 plus in age, about 51% of those households are ALICE, and 33% of families with children are ALICE.

So you can see the striking number of households that are struggling right now.

- And for you, someone who works in social justice, is it pretty easy then for you to see kind of where those gaps lie?

- I would say so because this issue, I believe, is a issue that not a lot of people talk about, but they're experiencing.

Since I'm already in community advocacy, I believe what I would like to be tasked with or help people realize is that it is a thing.

I'm not eligible for childcare.

So if I needed childcare, I would have to rely on family and friends to help take care of my younger boys and things of that nature.

So it's kind of like a domino effect.

It's like one thing affects another.

So if you can't have or don't have resources for affordable quality childcare, then it's hard for you to go to work and make income.

And so it's kind of like where does, where is, you know, the common ground for these families who are just right on that edge of not making enough, but they make it too much, if that makes sense.

So helping families navigate through that space as I'm navigating it myself.

So it's kind of like a, I'm living, it's a real life lived experiences.

- You've explained kind of just how quickly it can happen.

Like you could be in a fine financial spot and then like lose your job, and everything is just kind of up in the air.

Can I ask what went through your mind when that was happening?

'Cause you have kids that you have to, you know, take care of and worry about.

- In my mind, I was thinking about what resources I can use to help fill those gaps where those government benefits were.

So food, you mentioned the Food Club.

I went there.

(upbeat music) - [Reporter] The Community Food Club sits on Division Avenue in downtown Grand Rapids, part of just a handful of resources available to ALICE Families.

At first glance, it looks like your typical grocery store, but its operation and mission take a unique approach.

- So we love to say that we are this nonprofit grocery store For folks to be able to shop here, they need to be at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.

For a family of four, that means they need to make $62,000 or less.

And we're intentional in those income guidelines because we really do wanna welcome those households that are ALICE, maybe just one emergency away from needing food assistance, you know.

We wanna be the stop gap in food needs.

And what we were recognizing is that people just needed access to more food.

Our emergency food pantries and other charitable food, gosh, they do such a great job here in Kent County, but it's often three to five days worth of food.

And so there's a gap.

So how do we help kind of close that gap, but then also how do we help open it so that folks who maybe are not normal qualifiers for charitable food are able to come in and shop.

- I didn't go there before, but after all this happened, I found myself there, and it still is a valuable resources that I use.

Food pantries, go there a little bit more frequently because of I have to pay out of cash pocket for all these food expenses, and it's a lot, especially now in the summertime where children are home, and they eat more and those things.

So just finding community resources to help fill those gaps.

- Members pay a monthly fee to shop based on their income, a sliding scale of $11 to $15.

After that food technically comes free of dollar charge as the store works in a currency of points.

So you can think of points like dollars in our store and while I hope that everybody who walks in here feels just like they're at any other grocery store, where we're gonna differ is our pricing.

So the healthier the food is, the lower in points it's gonna be.

So all of those really beautiful fruits and veggies that you see in our cooler are one point, whereas our snack items are four.

We like to say we turn the tables upside down on grocery store pricing because it's too expensive, and folks need access to good healthy foods.

58% of what our members take is a fruit or a vegetable.

That's triple what it is at like a regular retail grocery store.

So when you see folks walking through there, it's piled high with fruits and veggies, and we've learned over time that it's not about wanting to eat healthy, it's about access to the healthy foods.

The other thing is people are embracing healthy lifestyles when they're coming here.

Every day I hear people saying like, I'm taking charge of my health.

I'm listening to my doctor.

And when people pay a fee, they really are taking charge of their health, right?

That's back to that dignity piece too.

- Social determinants of health are really those factors in the environment that contribute to the health and wellbeing of a person.

And so we talk about social determinants of health, all of those things that determine how healthy a person can be.

So, you know, food's an obvious one.

If you don't have access to nutritious food, you're not going to be healthy.

- The big thing for us though is we're never gonna tell our members, our shoppers how to spend their points.

Like, you know what you wanna get when you come to the grocery store, and I know what I wanna get, and that's how we treat everybody who comes in here.

So we're really intentional with how we stock foods.

A common thing in nutrition here in America is that it's really based on Caucasian diets.

It does not need to be that way.

I want people to eat like their Abuela eats, like their Auntie eats, right?

You know?

So we really just get to know our members, and that's how we kind of decide what to stock in our store.

So we have a member advisory council that meets with us every month.

They're talking through all of our programming decisions, including food selections.

We poll our members a lot, just asking them what they wanna see on the shelves.

And then we also kind of partner alongside cultural experts to help us kind of determine what's a normal for our Latin diets, what's a normal for some of the African refugees that we're seeing come through our doors.

So a lot of thought and intentionality goes into what you see on our shelves.

Because your socioeconomic status should not dictate your customer service experience.

And we really believe that.

- [Reporter] The store packs a punch when it comes to nutritious, culturally diverse foods.

But the need is growing at a rapid pace.

Over the past 12 months, membership increased by 47%.

- We're a team of eight, so we serve about 8,000 people a month.

So we always are like, ah, we each get a thousand people.

People can come in and shop every day.

So we have this crew that really does come daily, they're our family.

So really overnight I felt like we've just really become incredibly busy.

So there's a stress on this space here.

So today we will probably check out between 275 and 300 people.

So we're running outta space, and we know that this model works, and we know that people wanna come in and shop.

So we're hopeful to open up a second location here in Kent County in a place that makes sense for our members where they're already living and where they're already working.

But then also we're hoping to spread this model statewide.

So we're working right now with some folks in Muskegon.

We're working with some folks out of Jackson, could be a bit of a long haul, but we're patient because we know that this model is efficient and effective, and we wanna just see it elsewhere.

(upbeat music) - [Reporter] While the club is eyeing expansion into other communities, food and hygiene products like those on its shelves are just part of the puzzle for many individuals and families.

- You know where those disparities are in how much income you have like to start off with, if you're trying to budget your checkbook to ultimately be to zero, but you have rent, you have gas, you have utilities, you have all these things, you are ultimately in the negative.

So it's kind of like how do you fill those gaps to where you are making income to, you know, satisfy those places where you don't have, you just, you just don't have it.

- I think another misconception that people have is that ALICE is just a budget issue.

If they would just budget better, and the reality is they're not earning enough money to be able to make ends meet.

So with housing costs rising and with inflation that we've seen in the past couple of years, it's not become a budget issue.

This is really at the end of, at the end of the month, at the end of every two weeks, they don't have enough money in their paycheck to be able to meet those basic needs.

- I have to sometimes pay, what is the saying?

Rob Peter to pay Paul if you will because well I have to, you know, pay this utility, but this one is due as well.

So it's kind of like, it's not just a balance of, you know, financial means.

It's a emotional balance of what can I afford not to pay or pay late, which is unfortunate, but that's the reality of what my life is anyway.

- [Reporter] In an effort to bring this conversation to the forefront, Heart of West Michigan United Way launched a budget challenge on its website asking everyday visitors to step into another person's checkbook.

- So I think the Making Ends Meet Virtual Program that's out on our website allows people to put themselves in the shoes of an ALICE family for a month, and they adopt that person's budget and they adopt all of the decisions that they have to make in that month to see if they can actually survive it.

And it's decisions like, you know, do I bring my car in for a repair when I hear that clunking noise because if I do, it's gonna cost money this month that I don't have.

But if I don't, it could be a bigger problem later on.

And then what do I do?

I think one of the most poignant ones for me was do I allow my child to go to their friend's birthday party because I've gotta buy a gift, and if I buy that gift this month, then that means I have less to pay for groceries.

And so you go through this simulation and really get a feel for the everyday decisions that these families have to make and how difficult this can be, and see if you can survive this.

Not only do you end up with money at the end of the month to pay for all of these things, but what is your stress level?

Because sometimes families are balancing that on a minute by minute basis.

Do I pay for this and relieve my stress or do I not and I've got more stress down the line?

- [Reporter] It's a simulation which can help bridge understanding across lived experiences.

But something that's hard to quantify online are the emotional impacts.

- I feel like I have to supplement the income that I lost more so or the resources that I lost.

So I have to work more and therefore be away from my family more.

Which sometimes it's like, my children are here, and I don't come home till late, and then we miss homework and then it's like just a domino effect, and then I feel really bad that I'm not here.

But it's like, well, who else is going to, you know, I don't have anyone to help me.

So it's kind of like I'm missing important parts of my children's, you know, life just because I have to make ends meet.

And it's like what can I do?

- [Reporter] Fredricka holds a unique experience working in community to help others while also working to help her herself and create opportunities for her family.

- [Fredricka] I think them also seeing that I'm not just, you know, out doing nothing, I'm actually trying to make a change.

And I think that helps with, you know, them understanding that your mom is, you know, might not be here but she's, you know, helping others as well.

(dramatic music) - [Reporter] While there doesn't seem to be a one size fits all solution, she says she believes more can and should be done to support families who are getting caught in the system's cracks.

- You know, we're just trying to survive it.

We're not thinking of like there are other people that are going through this.

So I think having that conversation of let's bring the people who are, you know, decision makers and policy makers, what can we do?

It's kind of like having more of a community conversation around it I think instead of just those singular pockets of conversations.

In that way, legislators, policy makers, they'll be more aware that, you know, this is a thing 'cause I'm sure that they probably went through the same thing coming through the ranks.

So just making it relative to where you were here once.

Remember that.

Don't punish people for doing better who are trying to be self-sufficient.

I would like to see some kind of self-sufficiency program, which kind of sounds cliche, but just those people who are determined to get out of that financial spot.

They may only make a certain amount, but they wanna make more, so enrolling in a program, they're okay, this is what you say you wanna do.

Let's walk alongside you so that when you get there to that point you wanna be, you're able to thrive.

(dramatic music) - As we wrap today's journey through the eyes of ALICE, we want to thank our community partners: Heart of West Michigan United Way, the Community Food Club, and Fredricka Brown for sharing their lived experiences with us.

Our show would not be anything without our amazing community members, and we are so grateful to have the opportunity to highlight some of their unique stories.

This story of ALICE may look different for others.

A reminder that no one person or families facing barriers is the same.

If you're interested in stepping into another person's life and getting that perspective, we have a link to Heart of West Michigan United Way's Checkbook Challenge below.

Plus, you can always find the latest episodes and resources on our website at wgvu.org/mutuallyinclusive as well as our Facebook and YouTube pages.

We have so much in store for you.

This is just the beginning.

Here's a look at what's to come - For me being born to two races that were resilient, yes, they struggle.

Yes, the trauma was there.

Yes, ultimately one race tried to eradicate them.

To hold the DNA from those two races and still be here in front of a camera to hopefully broadcast on TV, that to me says it all.

- And it's not just unique to the United States, but we have this legacy and this history of exploiting specifically communities of color as well as poor communities.

And they tend to take the brunt of those harmful environmental actions that are taken.

- You have technology that is used to benefit us really, right?

Like we're trying to, to make something easier or better for society.

But everything that you build can be used in another way.

- Certainly people in the African American community always knew that these problems existed.

It wasn't really until they exploded and become headline news that people in the other communities really saw that there was a problem.

- Because of the impacts of boarding schools, many of us had lost their language, including in my family.

- Everyone again has a story from their own situation.

What is your motivation?

What is your desire in your heart to keep your language moving forward?

- My aunts, my mom, my grandma, a lot of them aren't here anymore.

So that's my motivation, especially my mom.

She'd be happy.

(dramatic music) - ALICE is asset limited, income constrained, employed, and ALICE can be any race, any age, any gender.

ALICE households earn more income than the federal poverty level, but less than what we would consider a basic survival threshold.

- I have to sometimes, what is the saying?

Rob Peter to pay Paul, if you will, because, well, I have to pay this utility, but this one is due as well.

So it's kind of like, it's not just a balance of, you know, financial means, it's a emotional balance of what can I afford not to pay or pay late.

- Right now we're driving through one of its previously redlined areas in the 49507.

Decades later this zip code is still heavily populated by people of color, and a few years back it had some of the state's highest levels of lead poisoning in children.

- So we love to say that we are this nonprofit grocery store.

Members will pay a monthly fee to shop here, and it's based on your income.

- We had a campaign going called Raise the Standards because right now there's not a lot of policies in place that protects the children and our families.

Although we want our kids to be safe, we always talk about money and kids being our future, but they're our now.

- It's forced us to create these programs to try to put the healing of that trauma at the forefront.

- It's kinda like a puzzle, and three quarters of it got thrown on the ground, and so now we have the chance to like pick some of it up.

- We all have our own story.

I just wanted to get our stories shared, and I'm glad we're able to make this possible with this little collaboration.

- I feel like you can't change something unless you bring visibility to it.

If others can't see it, you can't change it.

(dramatic music) - We have all that and more coming up this month, so we hope to see you again.

Thank you for joining us in being Mutually Inclusive.

(dramatic music)