Photo by Denise Ritchie

Members of the John’s Island Community Service League and representatives of the 38 Indian River County agencies they are providing grants to this year had a lot to celebrate last Monday as they gathered for the JICSL Closing Luncheon at the John’s Island Club.

Grant chairs Vicki Aspbury and Louie Hoblitzel announced that more than $1 million in grants was being awarded to agencies focused on health and wellness, and education. Additionally, under membership chair Betsy Fox, membership in the JICSL reached an all-time high of 1,040 women and men.

Prior to those announcements, guests heard from Meredith Egan, United Way COO, who highlighted the need to support a growing population of our community – the working poor.

As Hope Woodhouse, JICSL president, introduced Egan, she called the United Way a true partner, saying, “the United Way, from my perspective, is the glue of the philanthropy in Vero.”

“We may be the glue, but you really are the engine that makes us move,” said Egan. She said that while the ethos of the American Dream is everlasting, even the hardest workers can fall short of that dream, as spotlighted in a report compiled by the national United Way and Rutgers University.

“ALICE is United Way’s recent study on financial hardship,” said Egan. “ALICE refers to the very sizable portion of our communities that are ‘Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.’ Employed being the critical word.”

ALICE workers are constrained by the high cost of necessities, generally do not qualify for assistance, and live paycheck to paycheck. Even a small emergency can put them at risk of becoming homeless.

“As a population, ALICE is above the federal poverty level, yet still have a difficult time affording the basics of housing, food, healthcare, child care and transportation, despite working hard,” said Egan. “In Indian River, 40 percent of our population is ALICE. These families live on the brink of financial disaster every day.”

The current Indian River County ALICE report, built around 2016 point-in-time data, indicates

The current Indian River County ALICE report, built around 2016 point-in-time data, indicates: 55,427 households with a median household income of $49,072 (statewide average $50,860). Factoring in those living below the federal poverty rate, the total number of households living below the ALICE survival budget is 51 percent (statewide 46 percent), a 10 percent increase from 2014 to 2016.

Egan added that while the ALICE household basic survival budget for a family of four in our county is nearly $54,432, low-wage jobs dominate the local employment landscape: 67 percent of jobs paid below $20 per hour and half of all jobs pay less than $13.60 per hour.

“The United Way ALICE report puts a spotlight on these families with a goal of helping everyone understand the challenges that more than 2.4 million Floridians face,” said Egan. “When we ignore ALICE, we risk the wellbeing of our community. When one part of our community is struggling financially it affects the prosperity of us all.”

As a way to address change within the John’s Island community, Woodhouse announced that while the JICSL has always offered scholarships to the children of John’s Island Club employees, they have introduced a new program to improve the lives of the employees themselves by providing scholarships to full-time, year-round employees seeking a degree or technical certificate from IRSC.

Hoblitzel also shared that in July, the Public Guardianship Program, which protects vulnerable, low-income seniors, will be merged into the Senior Resource Association.

“The Service League so applauds this consolidation and to celebrate the spirit of collaboration, we are today making an additional $20,000 award to them,” said Hoblitzel .

Funding for all the grants is derived through various fundraisers including the annual gala, the Tambourine Resale Shop, dues and individual donations.

“Thank you again for supporting us and for being here,” said Woodhouse, adding that they have big plans for next year when JICSL will celebrate its 40th anniversary.