THE UNITED WAY OF NORTHERN NEW YORK INC

COMMUNITY IMPACT
The United Way of Northern New York’s Community Impact program is designed to maximize the positive outcomes for each distinct community located in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence Counties.

Through thought leadership and facilitating collaboration with local communities, training of nonprofits to meet prioritized needs, and laser-focused funding to solve challenges, our Community Impact plan has three pillars:

Improving Survivability in The Most Vulnerable Communities
- Supporting Food and Social Work Programs That Serve Vulnerable Families, Seniors and Veterans
- Supporting ALICE Families Who Are Susceptible to the Benefit Cliff and Rapidly Deteriorating Situational Poverty
- Meeting the Transportation Needs of Rural Residents to Attend Medical Appointments, Grocery Shopping and Other Essential Trips
- Supporting Victims of Domestic Violence to Regain Safety and Stability in Their Lives

Supporting Children
- Providing Schools with Funds for Student Coats, Boots, Mittens and Other Essentials
- Providing Quality and Safe Childcare for Babies and Toddlers
- Providing Quality and Safe After-School Programs for School-Age Children
- Providing Pre-K Literacy Programs Through North Country Library System

Opportunity for Employment
- Providing Quality and Safe Childcare to Allow Parents to Seek and Maintain Meaningful Employment
- Providing Financial Relief to ALICE Families to Facilitate Employment and Quality of Life During Periods of Financial Stress
- Providing Quality and Safe After-School Programs to Allow Parents to Work Full Time
- Providing Adult Literacy Programs to Increase Employability and Increase Quality of Life

WHO IS ALICE?
A United Way acronym which stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, represents the growing number of individuals and families who are working, but unable to afford basic necessities. These families are struggling – earning too little to make ends meet, but sometimes too much to qualify for support.

By comparing real incomes with real expenses, the United Way ALICE Project reveals the stark reality that income falls short of basic needs for 42.3% of residents of Northern New York. With low wages and no savings, these Americans have no ability to meet their current needs, or to adequately prepare for the future. These families are particularly vulnerable to financial shocks like job loss, unexpected medical expenses, and natural disasters.

UWNNY’s Community Impact Plan targets solutions to address the shocking mismatch between a family’s income and the real-time cost of living in each county. This work provides a very real glimpse of the devastating impact that daily struggle has on an ALICE household. And when we shine a light on this unrecognized group, we also see that the instability of such a huge proportion of workers is destabilizing our local economies, our communities, and all our lives.