Nearly a third of all Door County families were already struggling before you ever heard the term “pandemic” uttered for the first time, and the United Way of Door County hopes to find a way to help out. The organization recently updated the public on how the pandemic made things worse for the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed) population. In the early days of the pandemic, the shutdown of schools and businesses made some families make tough decisions on employment and child care. Even as the pandemic winds down, the impact of higher prices at the grocery store and the gas pump is harming ALICE families even with higher wages. Christina Studebaker from the United Way of Door County says inflation, in some ways, has made things worse.

Studebaker provided an update on ALICE in Door County late last month. You can watch that presentation below. She added that the United Way is developing a plan to address these issues and will release it in the coming weeks.