Looking for an extra $500 a month to spend with no strings attached?
The People’s Fund is providing just that through its Guaranteed Income Program that will ensure revenue for 30 families on the East Side of Buffalo with direct cash assistance.
The crisis response and emergency assistance program will offer $500 per month for 12 months to Buffalo residents in need and living in the 14208, 14211 or 14212 ZIP codes. The money can be used for needs such as food, rent or other bills.
“This is probably the boldest thing we’ve ever done. We’re going to be putting $180,000 out into the community,” said Max Anderson, deputy director of Open Buffalo.
“This is what's going to be such a game changer for people living in the City of Buffalo,” said Franchelle Parker, executive director of Open Buffalo and member of the People’s Fund Governance Committee. “It will just be income, and individuals can use that however they see fit, either to pay bills or maybe to save or to buy, whatever it is to meet those basic needs that individuals have.”
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The People’s Fund is the national benefactor that is providing the money through its mutual-aid fund to support residents in Buffalo’s most historically excluded, intentionally overlooked and economically distressed ZIP codes.
The funds get to the community through Buffalo’s Crossroads Coalition, which includes Open Buffalo, PUSH Buffalo, African Heritage Economic Initiative, Coalition of Economic Justice, Cooperation Buffalo, Partnership for the Public Good, Public Accountability Initiative, Massachusetts Avenue Project, Ujima Company Inc. and the WASH Project.
“Sometimes a little extra breathing room can make all the difference,” said Juweria Dahir, who works with disadvantaged women and families as director of a women’s empowerment program at H.E.A.L. International in the city’s Upper West Side neighborhood.
The universal basic income pilot program is lottery-based, so not everyone who applies will be selected.
Applicants must provide proof of identity and age, such as a driver’s license or passport. They also must have proof of residency, including two documents. One must be dated older than 60 days from the time of the application, and the other must be dated within the previous 30 days.
And proof of hardship is required to demonstrate “significant” life or financial challenges, which could be large medical bills, being behind on rent or utilities, a job loss, transportation issues or if you receive public benefits like SNAP.
The deadline to submit applications is Monday. The 30 households that will be randomly selected will be notified by Aug. 6. The money will be loaded onto prepaid debit cards.
Applicants who are accepted into the program will meet with People’s Advocate to enroll.
To apply, go to crossroadscommunityfund.org/grants/peoplesfund/.
Lottery for $500 monthly checks part of proposal for Buffalo's stimulus spending
The "income assistance program" is one of 28 ways Mayor Byron Brown has recommended spending more than $328 million in federal stimulus aid to the city over two years.
In 2021, then-Mayor Byron W. Brown proposed giving out $500 monthly checks to low-income households selected by lottery using $20 million of the $331 million in American Rescue Plan money the city received. The proposal would have provided direct support for more than 1,600 households, but it did not get past the proposal stage.
Other cities have run similar projects, including the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration that was launched in Stockton, Calif., in February 2019 by then-Mayor Michael D. Tubbs. The program was funded by $3 million in donations and grants.
The program provided 125 randomly selected residents with $500 monthly payments over 24 months.
Participants showed an increase in full-time employment – from 28% to 40% – and improvements in mental health and financial well-being, according to a study released in March 2021 that evaluated the first year of the pilot.
St. Paul, Minn., launched a pilot program in November 2020, giving 150 families $500 per month for 18 months.
In the fall of 2021, Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka launched the Newark Movement for Economic Justice, which provided cash disbursements to 400 low-income Newark residents for a period of two years.
By Deidre Williams
News Staff Reporter
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