Agency Mixer event brings community partners together at COA

By Nicole Bowman-Layton

EDENTON – In Chowan County, 44% of households can’t afford basic necessities. They’re not unemployed – they’re working full-time as childcare providers, waiters, gas station attendants, civil servants, teachers and caregivers. They earn too much to qualify for assistance, but not enough to survive. They have a name: ALICE – Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. And they’re invisible.

On the evening of January 27, 2026, about 50 people from nonprofits, civil organizations, and government entities gathered at the Culinary Arts Building on the College of the Albemarle – Edenton-Chowan Campus for an Agency Mixer hosted by the Chowan CARES Team. The event, featuring food from Downtown Roots, marked the first such community gathering since 2015. Lorri Barrett, outreach director for the Albemarle Area United Way, delivered a presentation that put a name and face to the struggling families who keep our communities running.

Who is ALICE?

ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. These are the working families that many communities once called “the working poor,” “the invisible,” or “the forgotten.” United for ALICE, a national research organization from New Jersey backed by more than 300 experts nationwide, has given this population a name and framework for understanding their struggles.

ALICE households earn above the federal poverty level but less than the actual cost of basic necessities in their counties. These are our neighbors, friends, family members, and colleagues. They’re the childcare providers, retail salespeople, cashiers, waiters, delivery drivers, gas station attendants, and caregivers who keep our communities running.

In a constant battle to make ends meet, ALICE families are forced to make heartbreaking decisions every day: Pay the heating bill or buy healthy food? Pay for childcare or work reduced hours to stay home with children? Buy necessary medication or pay rent?

Making matters worse, many ALICE families earn just slightly too much to qualify for assistance programs like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). They fall into a gap where they’re struggling to survive but ineligible for the support they desperately need, Barrett said.

A divorced mother of two featured in the presentation shared her story: “Due to the birth of our second child, daycare costs exceeded what my salary was, so I quit my job to become a stay-at-home mom. When the divorce occurred, that created an extreme hardship. I had to start putting a lot of bills on credit cards. It wasn’t a path I wanted to go down, but I had no choice. So even though I have this full-time career, it’s still a struggle. It’s still hard to make ends meet. You can’t keep a family of three afloat on my salary alone.”

The Scope of the Crisis in North Carolina

Chowan County: With a population of 13,814 people and 5,999 households, Chowan County faces significant challenges. The median household income is $56,982, well below the state average of $70,804. In the county, 26% of households are ALICE families, while 18% live in poverty – meaning 44% of all households struggle to afford basics.

Regional Variation in the Albemarle Area

The percentage of struggling households varies significantly across the region. Bertie County has the highest percentage at 54%, while Camden County has the lowest at 30%. However, Barrett noted that Camden’s lower percentage may be influenced by its proximity to Moyock, where new housing developments are attracting residents who commute to Virginia for work.

The data reveals that certain populations are disproportionately affected by financial hardship:

• Race and Ethnicity: Black households are most likely to struggle, followed by Hispanic households.
• Age: Elderly residents aged 65 and over face the highest rates of financial hardship.
• Household Composition: Single-family households headed by one parent are most vulnerable to financial instability.

Why ALICE Exists: The Growing Gap

The fundamental problem is a mismatch between ever-increasing costs and wages that aren’t keeping pace. As presented in the event’s visual materials, a household survival budget for basic needs – including housing, childcare, food, transportation, healthcare, technology, and miscellaneous expenses – far exceeds what many full-time workers earn.

According to United for ALICE data from 2025, when $62,100 in wages for two full-time workers (illustrated as a stock worker and order filler in the presentation) are compared to the household survival budget of $80,232, there’s a significant shortfall. The federal poverty level of $30,000 is drastically insufficient, falling far short of what families actually need to survive. Even the supplemental poverty measure ($32,543) and 50% of the area median income ($41,950) don’t bridge the gap.

Essential Workers with Insufficient Wages

Barrett shared startling employment statistics that highlight the crisis:

• Only 20% of working-age people in North Carolina have a full-time salaried job.
• 35% of workers in North Carolina with full-time jobs still can’t make ends meet.
• 55% of food service workers – waiters, waitresses, and cooks – cannot afford basic necessities, despite working full-time.

A Growing Crisis: 18% Increase Since 2010

Perhaps most troubling is the trajectory of financial hardship. While poverty levels have remained relatively stable since 2010, the ALICE population has grown dramatically – an 18% increase over the past 15 years. When wages increase at a slower rate than basic expenses, purchasing power erodes. This is especially devastating for ALICE households who are already struggling without much assistance to cushion the blow.

As one ALICE mother shared: “I have a lot of debt, you know. Medical bills that we need to pay, so definitely every bit helps.”

Barrett asked attendees to think about the ALICE workers they encounter every day. “Maybe you dropped your kids off at the childcare center this morning. Then maybe perhaps you filled your gas tank before you started your work day. Maybe you went to your favorite deli for lunch or went out to run an errand at a grocery store. There may even be an Amazon package waiting for you outside your door at this very moment.

“ALICE workers are the engine that makes our economy and our daily lives run smoothly,” she continued. “Yet all this time, they’ve been overlooked and undercounted as they live every day priced out of survival and unable to make ends meet in our counties.”

How Communities Can Help ALICE Rise

Barrett emphasized that the answer to ALICE’s future is in our hands. “We have the power to alter the course for ALICE families, shaping our future for the better because when we lift up ALICE, we lift up entire communities.”

This transformation requires an all-hands-on-deck approach. In the words of one ALICE mother, “Every little bit helps.”

Here’s how community members can make a difference:

• Donate: Support the Albemarle Area United Way, which serves 33 partner agencies from Windsor to Dare County. Donors can designate their contributions to specific organizations like The Alliance, the Red Cross, or the Boys and Girls Club.
• Volunteer: Give time and skills to support ALICE families and the organizations that serve them.
• Speak Out: If you are ALICE, share your story with your community and speak to your representatives about the need for systemic change.
• Learn More: Visit unitedforalice.org to explore detailed data about the ALICE population in the Albemarle area. Of the 47 United Ways in North Carolina, 37 are contributing to ALICE research and advocacy.

A Critical Resource: Call 211

Barrett concluded her presentation by highlighting a resource many people don’t know exists: 211. Available in both English and Spanish, 211 operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week as a lifeline for people in crisis.

“If you don’t take anything else away from what I’m telling you today, tell people you know about 211 because people don’t know,” Barrett urged. “If you are in trouble, you can call 211. Like 911, you would call for law enforcement, 211 you would call because you don’t have food for your kids, you’re in a domestic violence situation, you have no place to live, you just wanna know where you can get help.”

The United Way’s 211 service also activates during disasters. When Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina, the governor activated 211, making it the central touchpoint for families seeking help. The service maintained lists of lost and missing persons, coordinating with law enforcement to reunite families and direct resources where needed.

“211 is an invaluable resource, and it’s something that we need to let everybody know about,” Barrett concluded.

Building Partnerships for Change

The Agency Mixer, hosted by Chowan CARES, provided a critical opportunity for networking and collaboration. Attendees came ready to discover how they can work together to make a greater impact in Chowan County. The event was the first community gathering of its kind since 2015, representing a renewed commitment to coordinated service delivery.

By connecting the faces to the names and email addresses of people working to serve ALICE families, the mixer aimed to strengthen the network of support available to those struggling to make ends meet in northeastern North Carolina. The event emphasized that collaboration and referrals between agencies are essential to helping families access the full range of services they need.

A Call to Action

The message from Barrett and the Albemarle Area United Way is clear: ALICE families are everywhere, working hard but falling further behind each day. They are not invisible because they lack worth or effort – they’re invisible because systemic barriers and insufficient wages keep them trapped in financial instability despite their best efforts.

The Agency Mixer at the COA Culinary Arts Building was an important first step in making ALICE visible, understood, and supported in Chowan County and northeastern North Carolina.

As one mother featured in the presentation said: “If we don’t discuss this and we don’t talk about it and we don’t raise the awareness, it’s never gonna change.”