October 29, 2024 – The United Way of Decatur & Mid-Illinois has partnered with Dove Financial Assistance to provide their ALICE Program to DeWitt, Piatt, Moultrie and Shelby County residents. This support will assist working individuals and families with limited-to-no savings, living paycheck to paycheck and who have an unforeseen financial crisis that threatens to plunge them into poverty. These individuals and families are known as ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed).
“We have continued to broaden our footprint in DeWitt, Piatt, Moultrie and Shelby Counties with local programs including 211 Information Referral Hotline for finding local services, and Dolly Parton Imagination Library – 12 free books a year to any child from birth to 5 years old. Partnering with Dove Financial Assistance in all four Counties for our ALICE Program was a logical choice. We look forward to partnering to assist more working families in Central Illinois with this $54,000 investment” stated Debbie Bogle, President, United Way of Decatur & Mid-Illinois.
The goal of this partnership is to keep working members of our community moving toward self-sufficiency and not into poverty. State and Federal assistance programs provide financial assistance to members of our community whose earnings are less than the Federal Poverty Line. If a community member earns more, they may not be eligible for assistance until they fall below this line. With our ALICE Program, we can help families that fall into a service gap and have nowhere else to turn.
“Partnering with United Way to assist with ALICE individuals and families adds another layer to our program that provides a systematic way to verify needs and provides a central location for persons seeking emergency financial assistance for water, power, just to name a few.” Said Molly Tenuto, Program Director, Dove Financial Assistance.