The “In Plain Sight” Reporting Project is made possible through the generous support of the United Ways of Maine and The John T. Gorman Foundation.
Every day, 40% of Maine households make tough choices, such as deciding between quality child care and paying the rent. This population is known as ALICE — Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
ALICE households represent a growing number of people who work as our teachers, child care providers, health care professionals, retail workers, and more. They are essential to Maine’s economy and daily life. Yet, they live paycheck to paycheck and have little to no opportunity to save for emergencies or future investments like education, home ownership or retirement.
They are everywhere — yet their struggles often go unnoticed. Hidden in plain sight.
This two-year reporting series aims to better understand the challenges ALICE Mainers face and inform our community about this widespread, underreported issue.
-
Older Mainers’ participation in the workforce has significantly increased in the past 20 years. -
Health care advocates say proposed cuts to Medicaid could endanger Maine hospitals that are already struggling to operate. -
Mainspring, a new social service collective in Kittery, has a growing clientele. With federal cuts looming, advocates are sounding the alarm. -
More than 64,000 Mainers have health insurance through the Affordable Care Act's online marketplace. But state officials and health care advocates say that many would lose coverage under proposed changes in the Congressional budget bill. -
More than 38,000 adult Mainers with disabilities are enrolled in MaineCare, the state version of Medicaid. Advocates say the future of programs that help people with disabilities live in the community is at risk if Congress slashes hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid as proposed under the pending budget bill.
