Keep Maine Afloat

Your donation can be a lifeline.

42% of working Mainers are financially underwater. Often living paycheck to paycheck, they are one unexpected bill or emergency away from sinking. Help bring our neighbors to stable ground.

OFFER a lifeline.

ALICE in Maine

ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) represents hardworking people of all ages and backgrounds who struggle to stay afloat. Though these workers fuel our economy, they cannot afford the basic cost of living. ALICE often earns too much to qualify for government assistance and has no room in the budget for emergency expenses.

We all know someone who is ALICE.  They are our children’s teachers, our grandparents’ care workers, and the service industry workers. 42% of us are ALICE ourselves.  And it can be stressful to walk this financial tightrope each month. Sometimes it means making difficult choices like whether to pay the rent or pick up that prescription, buy car insurance or keep the lights on, fill the fridge or the gas tank.

SURVIVAL BUDGET

Typically, ALICE households consist of low-wage, full-time workers. Sometimes they work multiple part-time jobs trying to cobble together enough for a survival budget – a conservative budget that includes the necessities of housing, child care, food, transportation, health care and a smartphone plan.

The average income in Maine needed for a family of four with two children in child care to reach the survival budget is about $86,000 and about $30,000 for a single adult. That’s more than three times the federal poverty level of $27,750 or $13,590 respectively and above the full-time earnings for 20 of the most common occupations in Maine.

ALICE workers are the engine that make our economy – and our daily lives – run smoothly. Yet, they are often overlooked and under counted as they live each day unable to make ends meet.

65%

of the 20 most common occupations in Maine paid less than $20/hour.

Curious about the household budget in your county or the number of ALICE households in your town? Dig into the data at ALICEinMaine.org.

United for alice

United Ways of Maine have always been focused on lifting ALICE households through programs and advocacy. Here are a few ways we elevate ALICE households:

Visit your local United Way to learn more about critical work for neighbors struggling to stay afloat.

offer a lifeline

Your support of United Way helps keep our ALICE neighbors afloat and move them to stable grounds. Donations will be shared with the United Way of Maine that covers your zip code.