  Work for Impact

  Healthy & Stable Families

Providing tools that end the cycle of poverty so all kids have a home and nutritious food every day.

46% of families in Lane County are ALICE households (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed -- earning more than the Federal Poverty Level but less than the basic cost of living), which means many are living dangerously close to financial crisis.

When kids don’t have a safe, healthy, stable home it is often difficult for them to succeed in school, which can negatively impact their future. It’s important to make sure families have the tools to end the cycle of financial instability so kids don’t have to worry about where they’re going to sleep at night or if they will have nutritious food to eat every day. We believe that if we can help families become more financially stable, we can help kids succeed and end the cycle of generational poverty.

Our community is actively involved in creating positive change for a brighter future for our kids, giving us a reason to look forward to the future with optimism.

Read the Lane County ALICE Report

Learn more about ALICE in Oregon here.

Proof in Numbers

Lane County Statistics

46%

of families are Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed ⁽¹⁾

18.7%

of children live in poverty ⁽²⁾

4.9%

of kids lack stable housing ⁽³⁾

19%

of children are food insecure ⁽⁴⁾

**Studies show:**

— The more difficult your childhood is the higher your risk for later health problems (5)
—Growing up in a low-income household is linked with long-term consequences in educational outcomes, physical health and brain development that can follow a child well into adulthood (6)
—The stress of childhood poverty can cause kids to stay impoverished as adults (7)

References:

(1) 2023 Lane County ALICE Report

(2) 2022 Oregon By The Numbers Report

(3) 2021 KIDS Count Oregon Report

(4) 2021 KIDS Count Oregon Report

(5) “Relationship of Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction to Many of the Leading Causes of Death in Adults,” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 1998, Volume 14, pages 245–258 (www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy)

(6) https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/how-poverty-can-follow-children-into-adulthood/

(7) https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170103134356.htm