In the annual United Way ALICE report it is made clear that poverty is prevalent across Evangeline Parish, St. Landry Parish and the state of Louisiana.
ALICE, which stands for Assets Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, released its report last Thursday at the St. Landry-Evangeline United Way office in Opelousas.
The report covers households below the Federal poverty guidelines and adds those with incomes above the poverty level that aren’t making enough to cover basic needs.
The report shared that households typically earn above the Federal poverty level of $11,670 for a single adult and $23,850 for a family of four.
According to ALICE, 60 percent of St. Landry Parish’s households are struggling or do not have an income to meet basic need. The amount of Evangeline Parish residents living in that category is 50 percent, while in the state it is 46 percent.
The household survival budget includes housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, miscellaneous and taxes.
The annual household survival budget for a single adult in Evangeline Parish, according to ALICE, is $15,804, and $43,032 for a family of four. This puts the annual wage for a single adult at $7.90, while the family of four annual wage would be $21.52.
In St. Landry Parish, the single household survival budget was determined to be $15,120, and $43,032 for a family of four. This makes the annual wage in St. Landry Parish for a single adult $7.56 and $21.52 for the family of four.
Listed below are 2014 ALICE totals by locality in Evangeline Parish.
•Basile, 581 households, 55 percent ALICE and poverty.
•Chataignier, 169 households, 50 percent ALICE and poverty.
•Mamou, 1,355 households, 66 percent ALICE and poverty.
•Pine Prairie, 333 households, 48 percent ALICE and poverty.
•Reddell, 285 households, 29 percent ALICE and poverty.
•Turkey Creek, 125 households, 40 percent ALICE and poverty.
•Ville Platte, 2,796 households, 68 percent ALICE and poverty.
Listed below are 2014 ALICE totals by locality in St. Landry Parish.
•Arnaudville, 422 households, 47 percent ALICE and poverty.
•Cankton, 257 households, 37 percent ALICE and poverty.
•Eunice, 3,965 households, 56 percent ALICE and poverty.
•Grand Coteau, 364 households, 61 percent ALICE and poverty.
•Krotz Springs, 445 households, 64 percent ALICE and poverty.
•Lawtell, 498 households, 28 percent ALICE and poverty.
•Leonville, 352 households, 61 percent ALICE and poverty.
•Melville, 431 households, 76 percent ALICE and poverty.
•Opelousas, 5,820 households, 64 percent ALICE and poverty.
•Port Barre, 696 households, 60 percent ALICE and poverty.
•Sunset, 1,186 households, 54 percent ALICE and poverty.
•Washington, 288 households, 68 percent ALICE and poverty.
To view the full ALICE study, which included 18 states, visit UnitedWayALICE.org.
Image
ELIZABETH WEST