Stories from participants

Born in the US, Alma lived most of her childhood in Honduras until age 16.

Michael is a friendly, gregarious and hardworking single father of two young children. An immigrant from Ethiopia, he speaks in a gentle tone, which accentuates the heartfelt words he uses to describe his gratitude for the City of Alexandria’s ARISE guaranteed income pilot program.

Crystal has been in Atlanta for years and has a master’s in psychology. When she was first approached about the program she initially turned it down because of her pride, and as a social worker she figured she could find her own resources.

Deontrez is a 23-year-old father of a 1-year-old daughter. When he first applied for the program, he had just finished college and didn’t like how things were going financially and needed a change.

Halimah is a single mother to a teenage boy and a daughter. When she first signed up for the program, she was struggling to make ends meet.

Latrice is a single mother of three daughters. When she first applied for the IMPACT program, it was in the middle of COVID and they were shutting things down at her job so she was already struggling with how bills would get paid.

Raya is a single mother to one daughter and a lifelong Atlantan. When Raya applied for the IMPACT program, she was working but still struggling to keep up with her bills and had to borrow funds from family and friends.

Ariana is a 23-year-old mother of a 1-year-old daughter.

Jewels is a 21-year-old mother of two sons. When she started receiving guaranteed income payments, she planned to move with her two boys into a place of their own in East Baltimore.

Kayla is a 23-year-old mother of a 1-year-old son. Receiving a guaranteed income allowed Kayla to find employment and housing, which has increased her financial stability.

Onesha is a 21-year-old mother of a 2-year-old daughter. Before receiving a guaranteed income, Onesha was having trouble affording daycare, paying bills on time, and saving money.

Shakeema is a 22-year-old single mother of a 7-year-old daughter.

Miyah is a single mother of three. Her youngest child was born in August of 2022 and Miyah is currently balancing being a mother of an infant again, while still maintaining care for her two older children.

Isa, a multi-racial single mom of a 14-year-old son, is an advocate and teacher who values equity, justice, and community.

Katie, a single mother of a 6-year-boy, was born and raised in Cambridge, moved away for a couple of years, and moved back with her family once she had her son.

Torry has been through tough times, in and out of jail, homeless, and even sleeping on benches at one point. The guaranteed income, with no strings attached, has completely changed his life. He says StepUp Durham has been a blessing.

Tydricka is a mom with a full-time job as a peer support specialist. She was released from prison in 2019, and hopes a guaranteed income gives people like herself a nudge in the right direction.

Tyler spent time in jail and prison on drug charges, and it was not always easy to readjust to society.

T is a long-time resident of Alachua County, FL. An avid animal lover, they are also a proud parent of two sons - one in the military and the other at home with special needs.

One of seven siblings, Calvin was born at Joe DiMaggio Hospital in Hollywood, FL. A high school graduate who went on to college, he is a renowned athlete and a military veteran.

Originally from Upstate New York, Izzy is a longtime resident of Gainesville, FL. An accomplished musician, stylist, and athlete, Izzy is deeply rooted in the community.

Murray is proud to have been born and raised in Gainesville, FL. After finishing high school, and struggling in a low-income environment, he had his first interaction with the justice system. The burden of a criminal record made it harder to make ends meet.

Jeff is a 34 year old male living in North Hollywood. Within a short time, Jeff lost his job, his mom got sick, he went through a divorce, and the pandemic hit.

Kipp is a 65-year-old female living in Long Beach. She had been a touring musician for almost twenty years when she became ill and started teaching guitar lessons.

Patric is a 31 year old male living in Inglewood. He had just left working for the post office and was trying to figure things out.

Antonio and his wife fell behind on bills when the fabric store Antonio worked at closed and they both contracted COVID.

Before the pandemic, Ashley worked in marketing and attended cosmetology school, managing flexible hours so that she could care for her son as a single mother.

Micaela is a single mother from Jalisco, Mexico who has been living in South Central Los Angeles for 20 years where she has two sons in college.

Twonna is a single mother with a two-year old son.

Davon is a 25-year-old resident of the Russell neighborhood. He is a father, works with children with behavioral health issues, and is an entrepreneur who cuts hair and gets paid for the content he creates on TikTok.

Emari is a 19-year-old from the Russell neighborhood of Louisville who lives with his parents and is training to be a professional boxer.

Tashonna is a 24-year-old student at the University of Louisville who lives in the Smoketown neighborhood. She is studying psychology because she said she wants to help people, and she has experienced her own mental health challenges.

Mai Kaw is one of the most vibrant and energetic people you’ll ever meet. She is a mom to a 7-month old girl, and lives with her partner in Madison. Her parents immigrated to Wisconsin from Laos in the mid-1980’s, and Mai Kaw was born and raised in Milwaukee, before moving to Madison as a young professional.

Marisol is originally from Puerto Rico and loves her adopted home of Madison, where she has lived since 1999. She has 5 kids, with the youngest still living at home.

Regina is a passionate mom of three kids, ages 4, 8, and 10. Like most parents, she knows the challenge of needing to work to support your family but having most of those earnings go towards childcare.

Vanessa is a 28-year-old single mom of two energetic kids, who are one and four years old. Originally from Oshkosh, she has lived in Madison with her family for six years.

A resident of Mount Vernon for 7 years, M.B. is a mother of four and grandmother to a grandson who adores her children.

A resident of Mount Vernon for 7 years, M.B. is a mother of four and grandmother to a grandson who adores her children.

Randy is a proud father of four children — ages, 11, 14, 15 and 17 — who has lived in Mount Vernon for over 10 years.

Gladys lives in Mountain View, CA with her two daughters. She enjoys discovering new hiking trails with them and experiencing new places together for the first time.

Katherine lives in Mountain View with her husband, son, and newborn daughter.

“A”, one of six family members, was deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“L” is a young mom who sees guaranteed basic income as a blessing.

"T", a widow with her two teenage children, moved to Mountain View in 2021 to stay with her sister after she lost her husband to COVID-19 complications.

Anonymous is the middle child of seven and is originally from Harvey, Louisiana. She is a part-time student and hoping to use guaranteed income payments to help graduate with a funeral service degree.

Laurin is a 22-year-old resident and program participant who lives in New Orleans East with her 10-month old child. She hopes to use the payments to help pay for cosmetology school.

In addition to buying essentials for her family, being a part of the program has helped Symphony connect with other great resources.

Kaleb is a dedicated 10th grade student at Rooted School New Orleans who is interested in Astrophysics.

Christina is a single mother of a baby boy and an 11-year-old son who has autism. She is about to begin classes to become a Certified Nursing Assistant with the dream of becoming a Registered Nurse.

Lisa has a two-month-old daughter who dealt with complications during labor and delivery. She has used The Bridge Project to cover the transportation to get her baby to her doctor’s appointments.

Lucy is the mother of a one-year-old daughter and is expecting a second baby in October 2022. She has not worked since the pandemic began, out of concern for her pregnancy when she had to leave her 60-70 hour per week job as a manager.

Susan is the mother of a 3-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter. She is originally from Lagos, Nigeria, where she obtained her master’s degree before moving to New York City.

Tynisha is a student and the mother of an infant son. Prior to the pandemic, she worked with autistic children. She has utilized public benefits programs in the past, but found them time-consuming and difficult.

Shamonique is a 33-year-old mother, mentor, education advocate and a community organizer. Prior to the pandemic, she was diagnosed with a seizure disorder and early multiple sclerosis.

Alisha is an Oakland native who lives in Deep East Oakland where she raises her 8-year-old grandson, whom she legally adopted when he was eight months old.

Imani is a single mother who worked as a desk clerk and lives in a family shelter. She uses her guaranteed income funds to get her 5-year-old son to and from school, while also keeping food on their plates.

Karina is an Oakland mom of three who moved to the city from Honduras 13 years ago.

Karina is an Oakland mom of three who moved to the city from Honduras 13 years ago.

Tiffany is a single mom of five children living in Oakland. She is a passionate advocate for improving childhood education.

Cynthia is a senior citizen in Paterson.

Brandi is a mother living in Providence who has struggled with homelessness for around 30 years. Most recently, Brandi was living in a temporary shelter when she finally was approved for a section 8 voucher.

“This program has helped me in my family and in so many ways. I finally felt like someone cared. I have a steady income because of this pilot program and I want to say thank you to everyone who is helping those of us in poverty, helping us to get back on track and let us know there are people that still care. I would like to see this program for each and every Rhode Islander, and if they can take it out around the world I would like for everyone to get a chance at this program. It has helped my family put food on the table and gas in my vehicle.”

This Richmond Resilience Initiative (RRI) participant is a single parent of one child.

This Richmond Resilience Initiative (RRI) participant is a parent in a household of five who enjoys recreational activities and supporting youth programming in his community.

This Richmond Resilience Initiative (RRI) participant is a parent in a household of three.

This Richmond Resilience Initiative (RRI) participant is a parent in a household of five.

Kelvin is a father of three beautiful daughters, ages 15 ,13, and 2. He lives in Encanto, a San Diego community that has faced systemic disinvestment.

Raquel is a single parent of a young son. She is working towards an associate degree in criminal justice at Santa Fe Community College (SFCC) and has been a part of the Santa Fe LEAP since September 2021.

Aimee is a single mother of two children and works at a pediatric clinic.

Lakendra is a single mother of three school age children.

Renodia is a single mother of a three-year-old and aspiring college student who has used the funds in part to pay off debts and increase her financial literacy.

Samantha and Max are a married couple with four children. During the pandemic, Max lost his income and medical bills were piling up for their infant daughter born with a heart condition.

Artist Briauna created a coloring book to commemorate Saint Paul’s guaranteed income pilot that includes illustrations, self-care suggestions and a prosperity word find.

DejaJoelle is a healing artist and cultural healing curator who was born and raised in the Rondo neighborhood of Saint Paul.

Originally from Nigeria, musician Kashimana created an album inspired by the city’s guaranteed income pilot.

Katey is a storyteller who created a physical postcard to be distributed around Saint Paul that featured a QR code linking to interviews with guaranteed income recipients.

This participant — a parent to two middle and one high school aged children — feels the mental relief of receiving a guaranteed income.

Geno is a single father in Tacoma raising three boys. He works as a technology consultant for a small company and sustains his household paycheck-to-paycheck.

Monica and her 16-year-old daughter are relatively new to Tacoma. They moved to the Pacific Northwest after incurring loss, violence, and financial uncertainty while living in the South.

Stephanie is a single mother in Tacoma, recently a grandmother, and a survivor of an unsafe relationship.