{"id":334380,"date":"2026-07-09T14:15:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T14:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/334380\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T14:15:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T14:15:11","slug":"data-shows-suncoast-residents-need-100k-to-support-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/334380\/","title":{"rendered":"Data shows Suncoast residents need $100K to support families"},"content":{"rendered":"

SARASOTA, Fla. \u2014 In Sarasota, Girls Inc.<\/a> is at the peak of summer camp season.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this point in the summer, we have about 200 girls in the center on any given day,\u201d according to Nicole Light, the organization’s vice president of program operations.<\/p>\n

She said the camps take all the fun parts of a typical school day and layer in educational opportunities for campers.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally important skills that sometimes during the summer get neglected a little bit,” Light said. “And then, sometimes students will have a little bit of a difficult transition going back to school. This way they\u2019re getting those skills all year long, and then that way it makes those transitions a little bit easier on them.”<\/p>\n

Many of the girls are getting their summer camp experience for free thanks to the Suncoast United Way\u2019s Summer Care<\/a> scholarships.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of parents who have their kids in school need something inexpensive in the summer. They\u2019re not having to pay for childcare if their kids are in elementary or middle school. We\u2019re filling that void,\u201d United Way Suncoast chief communications officer Ernest Hooper said.<\/p>\n

This year, the organization expanded its summer care program to more than 50 locations as the suggested household income for families is growing, according to United Way’s\u00a0ALICE report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“These are ALICE families \u2014 Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed \u2014 working hard but still struggling to make ends meet,” United Way Suncoast said on its website. “They live paycheck to paycheck and stand just one unexpected expense away from dire circumstances.”<\/p>\n

Across DeSoto, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas, and Sarasota counties, reports indicate that nearly 665,000 households are living below the ALICE threshold.<\/p>\n

The most recent data finds that more than $108,000 is barely enough to make ends meet for a Sarasota County family of four needing childcare.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not annual passes to Disney. That\u2019s not taking your kids out to eat at a fancy restaurant,” Hooper said. “That\u2019s just paying for the basic needs. So the struggle is real.”<\/p>\n

In Sarasota County, 42% of households are below the ALICE threshold. The median household income is around $83,000, while the report claims a family survival budget starts at $108,000.<\/p>\n

The organization’s partnership with Girls Inc. aims to make sure the kids in this demographic are not forgotten.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t really measure with the data that we report. How many girls came here? How many activities did they do?” Light said. “It\u2019s the smiles on their faces. It\u2019s their excitement.”<\/p>\n

Thanks to a donation from Devan\u2019s Book Club<\/a>, each camper is sent home with two new books, something organizers hope will help participants reach their literacy goals \u2014 especially if there isn\u2019t any room in their parents\u2019 budget to add to their at-home library.<\/p>\n