County manager highlights Brookdale's five‑year role and ALICE summit takeaways on the 'working poor'

On the Makin It podcast, county manager Dr. Keith Moffitt reflected on the five‑year anniversary of the Brookdale Resource Center, which he said began as a warming center and evolved into a transition center providing wraparound services for individuals and families. He told hosts the county has served "5,000 plus people, men, women, and children" through that effort and said staff and volunteers’ stories underscore the center’s impact.

Moffitt said a recent ALICE summit (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) reframed how the county views people who work but remain financially fragile. He recounted summit research examples — rising grocery/meal prices and the disproportionate economic effects that mean a single flat tire can derail someone's week — and said those examples prompted him to ask staff where county resources could be realigned to help constrained employees.

"A flat tire will ruin their world," Moffitt said, using the summit’s framing to explain how small shocks cascade into job loss and housing instability. He said the county is reviewing internal priorities and deploying existing assets — from pothole repair to outreach programs — to reduce such fragility. Moffitt emphasized partnerships with nonprofits and service providers and said Brookdale’s role as a local hub for services remains central.

Moffitt did not provide a detailed budget breakdown for Brookdale or a complete list of the county’s support dollars on the episode; he described the 5,000+ served as a program figure and said communications would be able to provide program statistics.