Parish economic expert: Report may aid in obtaining grants

Bill Rodier, executive director of the St. Landry Parish Economic Development District, served on the Louisiana ALICE Research Advisory Committee.
Rodier responded to three questions about the report.
How does the report influence what you do?
I think the most direct economic development application/opportunity that might be created with the report is the potential to use the data for various types of grant opportunities that can be used to assist with a multitude of community related challenges. I am sure there are countless reasons why people fall within these identified poverty categories, but typically there are systemic community development related improvements, either hard improvements such as infrastructure and facilities, or soft improvements such as community outreach and support programs that can assist these populations in meaningful ways. From the economic development side of the fence we would be more focused on the right kinds of “hard improvements” types of opportunities and what kinds of state and federal assistance that can be leveraged to make these improvements using this data as supporting justification.
What should we take away from the report?
I believe that many people will be very surprised when they see size of the population that fit within these ALICE categories. I know that I was personally surprised, so one of the first questions that I had was how this information generally compared with other states in which ALICE studies had been completed. The answer was that Louisiana was very close in comparison. So the first takeaway is that this is not just a state issue, but a national issue as well. The other thing to note is that a significant part of the ALICE population is in transition, i.e., a student that is living away from home, or an entry level worker that is in a career with a progression track over time. These persons will likely have the ability to climb out of the category as they progress through their education and their professions. Along those lines; this report reflects the importance of sound regional and statewide workforce development strategies in that whenever possible we ensure we are providing the right kinds of focus on training and education for career options that give individuals an earning/career progression potential above ALICE.
Are there action points to the report specific to St. Landry Parish? The region?
From an economic development perspective this data will be used more as a tool to develop specific resource opportunities for improvements more so than a strategy. I know that some of the non-profit entities in the parish, and I am sure in the region, are already looking closely at how they can develop impact strategies off of this data. It is however still early and I do believe that there will be some of the more progressive non-profit and public entities that may consider using some of these figures as a measurable benchmark metric for community development progress.