ALICE | United Way of Pickens County

She is the home health worker helping your elderly father. He is the man who rings up your groceries, then clocks in for a second shift. She is the receptionist who smiled at you at the doctor's office this morning. They are working, sometimes two or three jobs, and they are still one flat tire away from everything falling apart. In Pickens County, more than 27,000 households live this reality every day. We call them ALICE.

ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. It is the research-backed name for our hardworking neighbors who earn more than the Federal Poverty Level but less than it costs to afford the basics of housing, childcare, food, transportation, and healthcare. ALICE is not a United Way of Pickens County program. ALICE is the research that guides everything we do.

DOWNLOAD THE 2025 'STATE OF ALICE IN SC' REPORT

THE DATA BEHIND OUR NEIGHBORS

The ALICE Report, produced in partnership with United Ways across South Carolina and the national ALICE research team at United For ALICE, tells us clearly and honestly how many of our neighbors are working hard and still struggling. In Pickens County, the numbers are sobering.

52% of all Pickens County households, more than 27,000 families, live below the ALICE threshold
15% live below the Federal Poverty Line, and another 37% fall into the ALICE category, well above the state average of 30%
69% of ALICE households that rent are rent-burdened, spending too much of their monthly income on housing
53% lack access to high-speed internet, shutting them out of homework, telehealth, and remote work
47% of ALICE individuals work full time and still cannot afford basic needs

These are not strangers. These are our neighbors, our coworkers, our children's teachers and caregivers, and the people who keep Pickens County running every single day.

HOW ALICE GUIDES OUR WORK

Understanding ALICE changes how we see our community and how we build our response. Every program we fund and every partnership we form in Financial Security is shaped by the ALICE research:

Pathways at Work puts a Success Coach inside local workplaces, because many ALICE households are one crisis (a flat tire, a surprise medical bill, a childcare gap) away from losing the job that is barely keeping them afloat.
Free File makes sure ALICE families keep every dollar of their tax refund, money that often pays down debt, catches up on rent, or keeps the lights on.
Financial Literacy Classes give ALICE adults the tools to navigate credit, debt, and banking with confidence, breaking cycles that have trapped too many hardworking families for too long.
211 connects ALICE households to food, housing, and emergency resources the moment a crisis hits, so a hard week doesn't become a hard year.

When we invest in ALICE, we invest in the backbone of Pickens County.

YOU CAN HELP CHANGE THE STORY FOR ALICE

ALICE is working hard. ALICE is doing everything right. What ALICE needs is a community that sees, understands, and refuses to look away. Your gift to United Way of Pickens County funds the programs, coaching, and resources that help our ALICE neighbors move from just getting by to getting ahead.

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