One Flat Tire Away: The Reality For Working Families in Our Community
One Flat Tire Away: The Reality for Working Families in Our Community
By: Ashley Hershberger
Around Holmes and Wayne Counties, people are doing what they’re supposed to do.
They’re working.
They’re showing up.
They’re trying to get ahead.
And still, far too many of our friends and neighbors are one flat tire, one home repair, or one unexpected bill away from falling behind.
At United Way Wayne and Holmes Counties, we hear this story all the time… from families, employers, school staff, churches, and local businesses. The problem isn’t effort. It’s that when something goes wrong, there’s just not much wiggle room.
Who Is ALICE?
You might hear our team talk about ALICE. It sounds like data, but it’s really the people we know: coworkers, parents from ball practice, folks sitting next to us at church and our own family members.
ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
In plain terms:
people who are working, but still can’t quite afford the basics.
That includes things like housing, food, transportation, childcare, and healthcare.
Here’s what that looks like in our community:
Holmes County
- 31% of households are ALICE
- 9% live in poverty
Wayne County
- 26% of households are ALICE
- 11% live in poverty
That means 40% of households in Holmes County and 37% in Wayne County are living at or below the basic cost of living.
These families aren’t avoiding work. Many are working full‑time, sometimes multiple jobs, and still making tough choices:
- Fix the car or pay the electric bill
- Buy groceries or fill a prescription
- Pay for childcare or turn down a better job
That’s not bad decision‑making.
That’s a math problem.
What Household Survival Budgets Tell Us
United Way uses Household Survival Budgets to understand what it actually costs to live. Not get ahead, not save… just cover the basics.
When you add it all up (rent/mortgage, utilities, food, childcare, gas, healthcare, and taxes) a lot of working families simply don’t earn enough to keep up. Wages haven’t kept pace with real life costs, especially in areas like ours where getting to work often means getting in a car that you yourself are responsible for.
That’s why so many hardworking people fall into the ALICE category, even while doing everything “right.” (See example budgets below)
Source: www.unitedforalice.org
This is where United Way’s Employment Resource Fund (ERF) comes in.
The ERF is simple by design. It helps people get a job, keep a job, or move into a better job by covering small, work‑related expenses that often come at the worst possible time.
We’re talking about things like:
- Work boots, uniforms, or scrubs
- Tools required for a job
- Certification or licensing fees
- Emergency car repairs so someone can get to work
Help is usually up to $500 total per person. Not huge money, but often just enough to keep someone working.
If and when someone is able, they may give back by volunteering or repaying the fund once they’re steady again. It’s neighbors helping neighbors, and then paying it forward.
Wayne County’s Story
This fund isn’t new.
In Wayne County, the Employment Resource Fund has been helping working adults for decades.
It all started back in 1987, when an adult education student, Dr. Jonnie Jill Phipps, saw classmates struggling to afford gas, tools, clothing, even haircuts. She made the first donation to help.
Over time, the fund grew. It was cared for by local schools and agencies, then later moved to the Wayne County Community Foundation, where it is still housed today. The fund is now administered by United Way, with guidance from a local steering committee made up of community members.
Because of that strong foundation, the Wayne County ERF has already helped hundreds of people stay employed and move forward.
It works because it’s:
- Fast when timing matters
- Practical and focused on work
- Local and community‑led
- Respectful of people’s dignity
Many folks think of it like a community savings account. Money set aside to help working people when they hit a bump in the road.
Now, We’re Bringing The ERF to Holmes County
While this model has worked in Wayne County for years, the Employment Resource Fund is new to Holmes County.
The Holmes County Employment Resource Fund is being built by our team at United Way to help in those moments, when one small expense could snowball into a bigger problem.
These aren’t big bills.
But at the right time, they can mean the difference between staying on the job or falling behind. (See example budget below)
Local Businesses See This Firsthand
Local businesses often see these struggles long before a form gets filled out or a phone call gets made.
At Holmes Tire in Millersburg, a flat tire or unexpected repair is rarely “just car trouble.” For many working folks, it’s the difference between getting to work or calling off, keeping hours or losing them. Standing at the counter, you can feel the weight of that moment, the worry about how to pay, the stress of what missing work means, the quiet hope that there might be a solution.
I’ve watched grace show up there while I was waiting in line to pay my own bill. Someone explaining their situation. A business choosing to work with them instead of turning them away. And the visible relief when a problem is solved. Not perfectly, not permanently, but enough to keep moving forward. Enough to get to work tomorrow.
Through a new partnership with Holmes Pest Control, we see that same care play out in a different setting. They regularly encounter working families dealing with a tough season. When they can, they look for ways to help, and are now offering reduced services for those who qualify through the Holmes County Employment Resource Fund.
What matters is this: these businesses still have to run strong, sustainable operations. They’re not acting out of obligation, they’re not dishing out handouts, they’re acting out of commitment to their neighbors and their community.
And when businesses, United Way, and the community work together, those moments of help add up to something bigger. People staying on the job, families staying stable, and a community that takes care of its own.
If This Sounds Like You, Here’s What to Do
If you’re reading this and thinking, this is me, I am ALICE… you’re not alone.
If you’re working and hit a rough patch, United Way can help connect you to support.
Email: info@uwwh.org
Call: 2‑1‑1 or (330) 263‑6363
We’ll listen, talk through what’s going on, and help connect you to the right help… quickly, privately, and with respect.
How You Can Help
This work only happens because people care about their community.
You can help by:
- Donating to the Employment Resource Fund
- Holmes County
- Wayne County
- Sponsoring the fund as a business or organization
- Offering services or reduced pricing as a local partner
- Simply sharing this information with someone who might need it
Sometimes the solution isn’t a big program.
Sometimes it’s help showing up right when it’s needed… keeping someone working, a family steady, and our community strong.
That’s why these funds exist.
That’s why United Way shows up.
And that’s why this work matters, to all of us.
