‘I’ll be able to take care of me and my family’ | Mother says Atlanta’s guaranteed income is helping

ATLANTA — Belinda Hunt has massive desires for her household.

She desires of changing into a pilot and desires for the day she will not must battle to get by.

“I’m working a job making $22, $24 an hour however once I get my examine I barely have my lease to pay,” she mentioned.

However with rising housing costs and inflation, getting forward simply hasn’t occurred for the working mother of 4. Till earlier this 12 months, Hunt received a little bit of a break after being chosen as one of many preliminary recipients of the town of Atlanta’s I.M.P.A.C.T. program.

This system is likely one of the final initiatives of former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and offers 300 Atlanta residents $500 per thirty days for one full 12 months with no strings connected.

The recipients all stay 200 p.c under the federal poverty line so the first intention for such funds is to assist transfer households ahead. Federal poverty pointers present for a household of 5, like Hunt’s, a household will need to have an earnings of round $3,382 a month in Georgia.

“Some households use it for training functions which advances their earnings,” Nancy Flake Johnson, President and CEO of the City League of Larger Atlanta defined about this system. “Transportation, which opens up alternatives for higher jobs; some individuals use it for extra primary wants.”

The league is charged with managing the I.M.P.A.C.T. program, which is modeled after related applications in Rochester, New York and Tacoma, Washington. 

Whereas Johnson confirmed that recipients can spend the cash as they so select, she additionally mentioned the funds are intently tracked. Recipients undergo an onboarding course of, sharing demographic and earnings data to assist organizers set up a baseline for progress. Recipients are additionally required to repeatedly enter how they’re spending the month-to-month $500.

For Hunt, the main target has been on training. 

She is utilizing her allotment to complement her common payments and modify her work schedule so she will be able to additionally examine aeronautics. With a few of the funds, she was even capable of throw her son a celebration.

She mentioned the cash will not be a cure-all however a begin.

“I’m not saying it is simple nevertheless it helps,” Hunt mentioned. “I do know in the long term, as soon as I full this program, I’ll have the ability to maintain me and my household.”