By Heather Peeler
Think about the last time an unexpected bill for a car repair, an urgent care visit or a rent increase tucked into a lease renewal landed on your kitchen table. For some of us, it was a frustrating week. For about one in five Alexandria households, it was a crisis.
In 2024, 20% of households in our city earned less than it takes to cover the basics, according to United Way’s ALICE research. Most of these families are working. They earn too much to qualify for most help and too little to get by. They are making ends meet one month at a time, and one surprise can undo it all.
Economic justice means everyone in our community has a fair shot at paying the bills, building a little security and moving up the economic ladder. It means no family has to choose between rent and groceries. It means the color of your skin or the neighborhood you grew up in does not decide how far you can go.
It’s easy to think of terms like economic mobility in an abstract or academic sense. At ACT for Alexandria, our understanding of this comes from our neighbors. More than 200 Alexandria residents told us economic well-being means having enough to feel secure, to make choices and to experience freedom in their lives.
Our region is an expensive place to live. Now add the shock of the past year. The Washington region lost about 56,000 jobs in 2025, the steepest decline of any major metro in the country, and federal layoffs accounted for nearly all of it, according to the Brookings Institution.
In January, the number of Alexandria residents looking for work was up 34% from a year earlier. Black workers in the region, who make up a larger share of the federal workforce than of the workforce overall, saw unemployment rise more than twice as fast as white workers. At the same time, funding cuts are reaching the nonprofits and public programs families lean on when a paycheck disappears.
When the ground shifts like this, a strong social safety net matters. Food assistance, health coverage, rental help and tax credits for working families are the floor that keeps a hard month from becoming a lost home. That is why ACT is a champion for housing stability, a stronger safety net, pathways to good jobs, fair funding for our schools and access to childcare and transportation. These are the supports that let families get back on their feet and keep climbing.
The inability of our neighbors to afford the basics impacts everyone. We are connected to our collective ability to thrive. When people can no longer afford to live here, our city becomes a little less itself.
Alexandrians have always understood this. I have watched this community show up for one another through the pandemic and every hard season since. We check on the neighbor down the street. We give on Spring2ACTion day. We pack food boxes and fill school supply drives. That care is part of who we are as Alexandrians, and it is one of our greatest strengths.
Care on its own cannot carry the full weight, though. Generosity can help a family through a hard month. Good policy helps make sure fewer families face that month in the first place.
Soon, the Virginia General Assembly will start a new session in January, and our City Council will shape next year’s budget. I invite you to join us in advocating for the policies and budget priorities that support economic well-being.
The next time an unexpected bill lands on your own table, think of the neighbor for whom that same bill could be the beginning of a crisis. Then ask what kind of Alexandria you want to help build for both of you.
The writer is president and CEO of ACT for Alexandria.
The post Commentary: Economic well-being starts with the basics appeared first on Alexandria Times.
