Research for Resilience
Clearer insight. Stronger communities. A better future for the Valley.
United is the Way we turn research into action, connecting stories and data to spark change across Winchester, Frederick, Clarke, Shenandoah, Warren, and Page counties.
For thousands of working families in our region, every day is a test. On this test, the choices are all impossible. Pay the rent or pick up a prescription? Keep the lights on or keep the car running? Buy healthy food or pay for child care?
United Way NSV uses local Community Needs Assessments, 211 call data, and other community-level research to bring these struggles into focus. These tools capture both the stories and the statistics and show us not only who is struggling but also why, and what it will take to build long-term solutions.
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Community Needs Assessments give us a comprehensive view of regional challenges, from housing and health to childcare and transportation.
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211 data provides a real-time look at what families are asking for when they have nowhere else to turn.
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Community-level research helps us measure the true cost of living, track emerging needs, and evaluate the impact of local programs.
When nearly 40% of Valley households live below the ALICE Threshold, the impact does not stop at their doorstep. Schools, employers, small businesses, and neighborhoods all feel the strain. This is not just about ALICE families. It is about the stability of our whole community.
That is why this research matters. It moves us from stories to systemic problem solving. It equips nonprofits, businesses, and policymakers with a shared picture of the challenges our neighbors face, and points the way toward scalable solutions that address root causes, not just symptoms.
Because every family deserves dignity, opportunity, and the chance to build stability. When research fuels action, the entire Valley becomes stronger, healthier, and more resilient.
Explore our research library and see how data is shaping solutions across the Valley.
2025 ALICE in Virginia: Northern Shenandoah Valley
Financial hardship is a reality for thousands of working households in our region. The 2025 State of ALICE in Virginia Report shows that while 10% of Virginia households live in poverty, another 28% are ALICE: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. Together, that means 39% of households statewide cannot afford basic needs like housing, childcare, food, and transportation.
In the Northern Shenandoah Valley, ALICE data highlights:
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Nearly 4 in 10 households live below the ALICE Threshold, unable to cover basic needs.
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Over 40% of households with children struggle, even when working full-time.
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More than one-third of senior households live below the ALICE Threshold, often forced to choose between housing, healthcare, and food.
Explore the full report and county-level data in our 2025 ALICE In Action Report.
What 211 Calls Reveal About Our Community: Heading into Fall 2025
Families across the Valley are telling us the same story through 211. Housing instability, utility shutoffs, and food insecurity are not isolated problems. They are signals of deeper systems under strain — and they affect all of us.
Last year, most 211 calls in our region were from families struggling with housing and shelter. More than half asked for help with rent, followed by requests for shelter, low-cost housing, and home repair. Utilities made up another 21 percent of calls, and food accounted for 5 percent.
This is not the exception in the Valley. For too many families, it is daily reality. And when housing instability becomes this widespread, the ripple reaches every classroom, clinic, workplace, and neighborhood.
What the Calls Tell Us
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Human reality: Every call is a family on the edge. A parent deciding between paying rent or keeping the lights on. A senior choosing between food or medicine. A child losing stability at home.
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Shared consequences: Schools see children uprooted and struggling to learn. Employers lose productivity when workers are distracted or forced to move. Local governments spend more on shelters and crisis response.
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Ripple effects:
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Education: Housing instability disrupts learning and increases absenteeism, costing schools and students alike.
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Healthcare: Families without stable housing rely more on ERs and leave chronic illnesses untreated, raising costs for hospitals and taxpayers.
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Economy: ALICE data shows our region faces a 1.3 billion dollar shortfall between what families earn and what it costs to live. Housing instability is the largest driver, draining consumer spending and straining small businesses.
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A United Signal for Action
The Lord Fairfax Health District’s 2026 Community Health Assessment echoes these findings. Across the Valley, residents consistently rank housing costs, food access, and mental health among their top challenges. In some communities, social isolation and chronic illness compound the problem.
Taken together, 211 data and the CHA tell a unified story. Housing instability is not just a family problem. It is a regional challenge with consequences that touch us all.
Why It Matters
Charity alone cannot keep pace with this level of need. The data points us toward system-level solutions: creating more affordable housing, addressing rising costs, and building prevention strategies that keep families stable before they need to call 211.
When families cannot afford housing, the entire Valley feels the consequences. But when stability is possible, everyone benefits. Children can learn. Workers can thrive. Businesses can grow. Communities can prosper.
Community Health Insights: What the New CHA Tells Us
The 2026 Community Health Assessment (CHA) makes one truth impossible to ignore: health is about more than doctors and hospitals. It’s about whether families can afford a safe place to live, whether they have food on the table, and whether they can find help when mental health struggles set in.
Across the Northern Shenandoah Valley, residents told us their top concerns: housing costs, food access, and mental health. These aren’t side issues. They are the forces driving stress through our households, fueling chronic illness, and destabilizing schools and workplaces.
That’s why this CHA is so important. Healthy communities don’t happen by chance — they are built on data, shared accountability, and collective action. The Lord Fairfax Health District and Valley Health worked with residents, service providers, and local leaders to map out the pressures families face every day.
The message is clear: the health of our region rises and falls with the stability of its families.
The full 2026 CHA will be released in January. It’s not just a report, it’s a roadmap for the change our communities need.
Top regional concerns: Housing costs, food access, and mental health
Local nuances:
Clarke: neighborhood conditions, aging in place, access to healthy food
Shenandoah: social isolation, food insecurity, economic stress
Warren: mental health, addiction, housing costs
Page: healthcare access, housing affordability, poverty
Winchester: housing costs, food access, chronic health conditions
Frederick: mental health, housing affordability, transportation barriers
Health impacts: Families link housing and food insecurity directly to stress, chronic illness, and limited opportunities to stay healthy.
Community voice: Residents emphasized that health is not only about access to services but about daily costs and environments where people live.
Why It Matters
The CHA confirms what 211 calls and ALICE data have been showing for years: the Valley’s most urgent health threats are economic and social, not just medical. Families who struggle to keep up with rent, food, and utility costs are the same families arriving in schools, clinics, and workplaces with preventable crises.
This alignment across data sources is not coincidence. It is a call to collective responsibility. Achieving shared well-being and community vitality requires system-level solutions that go beyond temporary relief and invest in the infrastructure that gives every family a fair chance to succeed.
When families are stable, the Valley thrives. When families are unstable, the costs fall on all of us. The path forward is clear: turn data into action, move from charity to lasting change, and take shared responsibility for building true community resilience.