An outsider looking in may think Hudsonville is a well-off community with not a lot of financial hardship. But that’s not what poverty looks like – at least here.
Hidden poverty is tucked away, with 25% of Ottawa County – that’s over 27,000 households – struggling to make ends meet.
These 27,000+ households are living in the ALICE window (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) where they earn more than the Federal Poverty Level, but not enough to afford the basics where they live.
Each of these families are forced to make tough choices without governmental support, such as deciding between quality childcare or paying the rent – choices that have long-term consequences not only for their families, but for all of us.
Love Your Neighbor sees many of these families walk through their door. Families who are in a state of survival – who cannot look ahead or plan for the future because the emergency is now. This is why Love does offer immediate relief – because even in this immediate relief – a circumstance can improve and a situation can be transformed.
As quickly as possible, we shift out of immediate relief and offer a long-term development program – Life Skills. This weekly, often year long commitment, allows families to take a breath, know they’re not alone, and come up with a plan for the future.
Sometimes, a family can be skeptical of the program, like Gabe and Rochelle were.
Debt had slowly been piling up, but they continued to ignore it. They knew they had an issue, but they didn’t want to admit it or deal with it. But the day of reckoning came when they received court summons- and they realized they couldn’t figure it out on their own, so they sought external help.
Love Your Neighbor popped up when they searched online. Gabe remembers thinking, “They’ll probably just give us food for the week.. maybe some money.”
But when they came in, completed an intake, and started attending the program each week, it wasn’t what they thought.
“Everyone was actually caring. It wasn’t generic. Everyone was concerned about our well being – it kind of blew my mind. ‘We really want to help you, both now and in the future. We want to see you succeed. Not just to be here, but to continue going forward.’
It wasn’t just about finances. It wasn’t just about spirituality. It was about how to live a better life. It wasn’t a ‘here’s how to do your finances and go,’ it was about improving our family relationships, our financial relationship. It was a win-win in more ways than one. It wasn’t just one thing. It was a life thing.”
They weren’t figuring it out alone – they were figuring it out in community – something we all need.
Gabe’s advice for other individuals and families who take the brave step to get help is this:
“Give it a chance. Do the work. Don’t short change yourself. Take it a step farther. Dig deep. It’s a short term loss for a long term gain. Each of us has our own goals. Stay in there. The program has great people and a great atmosphere. There’s a human side. There’s understanding. There’s empathy.”
Check out playspent.org to see what a day in the life might be like if you were a family living in the ALICE window.
Learn more about the Life Skills Program here.
We’ll be sharing 40 stories of transformation leading up to our 40th Celebration Block Party on September 24th. Please join us!