Needs Assessment
Find info on the ALICE study of financial hardship, the Homeless Count, and the Pair of ACEs below.
ALICE
a study of financial hardship
We believe Central Oregon deserves a future where everyone can thrive.
Yet, here in Central Oregon, 1 in 3 households – about 30,000 families – are struggling every day to make ends meet and are living just one unexpected expense away from crisis.
That is 34 % of Central Oregonians that don’t have enough income to cover their housing, childcare, food, transportation, healthcare, a smartphone, and taxes. We know this from a study of financial hardship that we do every year called ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed).
And, that is why we exist: to mobilize the caring power of community, turning compassion into action.
We’re here because we believe that no child should go to bed hungry. And no family should wonder if they can make ends meet.
We believe that when our neighbors thrive, our entire community thrives.
Everything we do is to move thousands of children, families, and neighbors in Central Oregon from surviving to thriving.
Families living on the edge make up:
- 42% of Crook County,
- 32% of Deschutes County, and
- 40% of Jefferson County’s households.
We rely on ALICE. They are working hard, but falling short.
While wages are staying the same, the cost of essentials is rising. ALICE families are facing the greatest health and financial risks today. Many don’t have health insurance, paid sick days, and have children who receive daily meals through school.
You can learn more about ALICE, county by county and household by household, in the latest ALICE Report, which we commissioned with other United Ways in the Pacific Northwest. “ALICE” stands for “Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.”
You can find the online interactive ALICE report here.
The Homeless Count
The Homeless Leadership Coalition Point-In-Time Homeless Count
United Way of Central Oregon is a proud member of the Homeless Leadership Coalition!
Each year, the Homeless Leadership Coalition conducts the Point-In-Time Homeless Count, which provides a snap shot of homelessness in Central Oregon on one night in January.
There were 2,108 individuals (adults and children) who were experiencing homelessness, in transitional housing, or at-risk of becoming homeless in Deschutes, Crook, and Jefferson counties and the lands of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs who participated in this year’s survey.
That was 17% more than last year. The total number of people experiencing homelessness in Central Oregon has increased by 89% in the last five years.
70% of people counted have lived in Central Oregon for 5 years or longer.
80% of people counted have been homeless for more than 12 months.
66% of people counted were unsheltered.
21% of our unhoused community is experiencing chronic homelessness.
We have seen a 6% decrease in the number of youth experiencing homelessness in Central Oregon compared to last year.
The Count is part of a state and national effort to understand the reasons for homelessness and the barriers people experiencing homeless face in finding appropriate and adequate housing.
Find out more.
Click here to find the 2025 and earlier years’ Point-in-Time Count results.
Experiencing homelessness or precariously housed?
Be counted. Click here to view locations and schedule.
THE PAIR OF ACEs
Adverse Community Environments (the other aces)
These environments include poverty, lack of affordable and safe housing, limited access to healthcare, lack of quality or affordable child care, community violence, ineffective education, systemic discrimination, and lack of opportunity, economic mobility, and social capital.
There is a relationship between adversity within a family and adversity within a community. Adverse Community Environments contribute to Adverse Childhood Experiences. That’s why we refer to Adverse Childhood Experiences (aka ACEs) and Adverse Community Environments (aka ACEs) as the “Pair of ACEs.”
United Way of Central Oregon is operating at multiple levels and scales, at the individual and community level to address the “Pair of ACEs.”
