The program was announced by the Georgia Resilience & Opportunity Fund.
ATLANTA – A new guaranteed income program in Georgia will provide $ 850 a month to more than 600 black women across the state for at least two years, a community-based organization that administers the program announced this week.
The program, called In Her Hands, will be distributed from a total fund of more than $ 13 million, said the Georgia Resilience & Opportunity Fund (GRO Fund).
It is initially aimed at 200 women in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward, where city council representative Amir Farokhi has been working to set up a pilot program for a basic income.
RELATED: 300 Atlanta residents will receive Guaranteed Income for one year after the city approves the pilot program
On Twitter, both Farokhi and the GRO Fund highlighted how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a native of the Old Fourth Ward, once claimed a guaranteed income.
“This initiative, developed with community input, will change lives and help us understand the personal and political benefits of income stability for our most vulnerable,” wrote Farokhi. “We’ll look at mental health outcomes and employment and career choices, among other things.”
Program director Hope Wollensack quoted Dr. King in a tweet:
We found that economic insecurity needs to be tackled at the root, as MLK said in 1968: “I am now convinced that the simplest approach will prove to be the most effective – the solution to poverty is to direct it through a lot now.” to eliminate the measure discussed. ” : the guaranteed income. “
– Hope W (@hopewollensack) December 8, 2021
“The In Her Hands initiative will not only provide program participants with greater economic stability, it will also provide much-needed insight into policies promoting a prosperous economy,” added Wollensack.
Monthly income will be free so that “individuals and families can invest in what they need – from basic services, a roof over their heads, medical care to investing in the family and the future”. – and retain the freedom of choice over their lives. ”
There is no application process for the program – identified candidates will be invited to participate.
Funding for the program appears to have come from a mix of private donors and sponsors, as well as local and state funds.
GiveDirectly, a donation service, continues to accept contributions to the fund. As of Thursday morning, it appeared that nearly $ 10 million had been raised – enough to fund 429 incomes, with another 221 yet to be fully funded.
