The Hidden Struggle of the Families Who Hold Our Communities Together

Behind the storefronts, schools, farms, and care centers are ALICE households stretched to the breaking point.

In Eastern North Carolina, we pride ourselves on hard work. It’s part of our identity, woven into the fields, waterways, small businesses, and the people who keep our communities running. But today, far too many of those same hardworking families are being pushed to the breaking point, not because they’ve made poor choices, but because the math of modern life simply no longer adds up.

Across Beaufort, Hyde, Tyrrell, and Washington counties, nearly half of all households are ALICE: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. These are not families living in poverty. They earn above the federal poverty level and therefore don’t qualify for most assistance programs. Yet they still cannot afford the basics: housing, food, childcare, transportation, healthcare, and a small cushion for emergencies. They live in the space between “earning too much to get help” and “not earning enough to stay stable,” and that gap is widening.

The cost of living in North Carolina has surged dramatically. ALICE data shows that a family of four in our region now needs $52,000–$58,000 a year just to cover essentials, and far more to achieve true stability. Meanwhile, wages in many of our most common jobs; childcare workers, CNAs, retail clerks, teacher’s aides, service workers, laborers, farmworkers have barely moved. Families are working one job, often two, sometimes three, and still falling behind. Hard work should pay off. But for ALICE families, it simply doesn’t.

When income doesn’t stretch far enough, the choices become impossible. Parents find themselves deciding whether to pay the electric bill or buy groceries, whether to fill the gas tank to get to work or pay for a prescription, whether to keep a childcare slot or repair the car that gets them to their job. These aren’t occasional emergencies; they’re daily calculations that erode a family’s stability over time.

And the toll is not just financial. Chronic stress ripples through a household. Children struggle to focus in school when home feels uncertain. Parents carry the weight of constant worry. Health suffers as anxiety and exhaustion take root. Relationships strain under the pressure of never having enough. When nearly half of our region’s households are one unexpected expense away from crisis, the entire community feels the strain.

ALICE families are the backbone of Eastern North Carolina. They staff our schools, care for our elders, serve our meals, stock our shelves, and support our local businesses. They are essential to the strength of our region. And yet, they are the ones falling through the gaps.

The challenges facing ALICE families are bigger than any one household can solve alone. But they are not bigger than all of us together. Eastern North Carolina has always been a place where people step up, pitch in, and look out for their neighbors. When families who keep our communities running are stretched to the breaking point, it’s a reminder that stability is something we build collectively. This is a moment to pay attention, to care, and to act in the ways we each can, because when our neighbors are stronger, our whole region is stronger.