The Bakers are ALICE

In Cheaper by the Dozen, the Baker family is loud, loving, chaotic, and constantly on the move. With twelve children to care for, Tom and Kate Baker spend every day juggling schedules, responsibilities, emotions, and finances while doing everything they can to keep their family together and supported. Beneath the humor and heartwarming moments is a reality many families know all too well: trying to provide for everyone while feeling stretched impossibly thin.

That reality is what ALICE looks like for many households in Adams County.

ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. These are families who are working hard, often every single day, yet still struggle to afford basic necessities like childcare, groceries, transportation, housing, and healthcare. In Adams County, 26% of households are currently living as ALICE.

The Bakers reflect the pressure many parents quietly carry. They are constantly balancing responsibilities, trying to make ends meet, and doing their best to give their children opportunities while managing the stress that comes with rising costs and limited financial flexibility. One unexpected expense, schedule change, or emergency can quickly create overwhelming challenges for a household already operating paycheck to paycheck.

And while most families may not have twelve children, many can relate to the feeling of trying to hold everything together while worrying about how to make the numbers work. ALICE families exist in every corner of our community. They are parents working long hours, caregivers sacrificing for their children, and households doing everything they can to create stability despite difficult circumstances.

The Baker family reminds us that struggle is not always obvious from the outside. Sometimes it looks like busy schedules, packed calendars, tired parents, and families simply trying their best to keep going.

They are ALICE.