Championing Critical Services and Advocating for ALICE
United Way of Whatcom County staff recently joined United Ways from around the state in Olympia, meeting with legislators to advocate for critical services in Whatcom County and beyond. Key topics included help for ALICE families and support for critical early learning programs.
Our elected officials have a tough job this year, facing a projected budget shortfall of more than $12 billion over the next four years. Legislators will need to make important decisions about where each dollar goes and how best to invest their limited resources to support systems, services, families, and children in Washington state. We know this work isn’t easy, and that there are far more needs than dollars.
We experience our own difficult budget decisions every year as we make tough choices about where to invest our grant dollars for maximum impact. We rely on our nonprofit partners to help identify critical needs in Whatcom County, and on their ability to provide solutions to effectively address those issues. Each year, we are amazed by the incredible work happening in our community, and we wish we could fund it all. Each year, we are also reminded that the asks are far greater than our resources. This leads to some extremely hard decisions.
But these decisions aren’t nearly as difficult as the choices facing ALICE families in Whatcom County. According to the ALICE data, 38% of households in Whatcom County don’t make enough to meet their most basic needs. We know that families are being forced to choose between buying food or paying rent. Between putting gas in the car or taking a sick child to the doctor. Between finishing school or dropping out to support the family.
These are heart-wrenching decisions, made by hardworking families who need every resource they can get, not just to stay afloat in the moment, but to keep working toward a future of financial stability. These are our neighbors, our coworkers, our friends, and our children.
Our Commitment to Community
At United Way, part of our job is to share ALICE information and stories with our local legislators so they can make informed decisions about where to invest. Their priorities and actions will help determine who is able to move forward and who gets left behind. As always, we will continue to advocate for our hardworking friends and neighbors and the programs that serve more than 50,000 Whatcom County residents each year.
United is the way we make sure our communities get what they need to take care of our most vulnerable families, children, and seniors. Thank you for being part of this important work!