ALICE, Texas - What was once a flourishing Texas town is now struggling to stay afloat after oil companies, which were the center of the local economy, decided to pack their bags.
In Alice, remnants of a booming economy are left abandoned in the form of empty buildings, weed-filled lots, and chained fences.
There are two major signs that things are not going well for people in this oil-dependent town. Ironically, one sign is the low gas prices. But the other, more troubling sign is the line outside the local food pantry, where 40-year-old Rafael Lopez, among many others, comes for help.
Lopez was laid off by an oil company in January and has been unemployed since.
“That’s all I’ve been is oil field and military,” he said. “It sucks out here. It’s hard to find an oil field job when oil field-related [sectors] going down.”
The Iraq veteran, like many other oil field workers, suffered the same fate when major oil and gas companies packed up their bags and left town nearly two years ago. Since then, the city’s revenue plummeted from $24 million to $6.1 million, while the unemployment rate skyrocketed from 3.1 percent to 8.2 percent.
Phyllis Seidel, the Alice Volunteer Services treasurer, has seen her own numbers rise. Nearly 800 additional families have applied for assistance in just the past year and a half.
“The economy in Alice is declining and the bad news is that we’re also seeing people move out,” she said. “Even though our numbers are increasing, there are people leaving the community.”
The food pantry is dependent on volunteers and donations. They’re running low on both. But Phyllis knows that it's times like these when she's needed most.
“It was started for the exact reason that we are servicing people, now for a decline in the oil economy,” she said.
As for Rafael, he remains hopeful that the town that saw him grow up will pick itself up and make a comeback.
“Keeping my little girl fed. That’s the biggest thing: groceries,” he said. “I have to swallow my pride and look out for my little girl. It’s not about me anymore.”
Alice’s mayor told KENS 5 over the phone that while he wasn’t at liberty to talk specifics, he said that the city is working with other business investors to revive their local economy.
