“Rule number one, get the money first. Rule number two, don’t forget to get the money!” Several states throughout the United States like California, Illinois, Minnesota, Mississippi, and New Jersey have introduced guaranteed income programs to help residents improve their financial stability and mental health while tackling the racial wealth gap. Now the program is headed to Georgia, as it will be the newest state added to the list.
According to Yahoo News on Wednesday, it was announced the program ‘In Her Hands’ will give about $850 monthly in cash, with no strings attached, to up to 650 Black women for two years. The program will study how unconditional cash transfers affect participants’ financial and mental well-being. ‘In Her Hands,’ is led by the Georgia Resilience and Opportunity Fund, a coalition of local elected officials and nonprofits, and the nonprofit GiveDirectly, will include participants who live in Atlanta and other parts of suburban and rural Georgia. Participants in the program must be near or below the federal poverty line.
Reports show that ‘In Her Hands’ was intentional about the program being started in Atlanta, a city with some of the most pronounced income inequality in the U.S. — specifically the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood, where Martin Luther King Jr. grew up. The median Black family in the U.S. owns $3,600 in wealth, which is about 2% of the $147,000 that the median white family owns, according to research conducted in 2019 from the Institute for Policy Studies. Research also shows that 26% of Black women who live in Georgia are in poverty, compared to 14% of white women. ‘
The program is scheduled to launch early next year and will distribute more than $13 million. Currently, the program is on track to be one of the largest guaranteed income pilot programs in the U.S! Roomies, drop a comment and share your thoughts about this program!
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