[ad_1]
Starting in January 2024, 100 randomly selected low-income Ann Arbor residents will receive $528 per month for two years as part of the city’s new guaranteed income pilot program: Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor. The program’s funds, which aim to support low-income entrepreneurs and small business owners, have been allocated from the $24.2 million in federal funding given to the City of Ann Arbor under the American Rescue Plan.
According to the program’s website, applications will be accepted from Oct. 2 to Oct. 13 for individuals who are at or below 225% of the federal poverty level — which is currently $14,580 per year for individuals — or who are eligible for federal public assistance programs, such as SNAP, Pell Grants and TANF.
After the application window closes, 100 applicants will be randomly selected to receive a guaranteed monthly income starting in early 2024. Another 100 applicants will be randomly chosen to serve as a comparison group, though they will not receive the monthly cash payments. Both groups will complete a series of surveys over the course of the program so that researchers involved with the Poverty Solutions initiative at the University of Michigan can analyze the impact of a guaranteed income on local entrepreneurs.
Kristin Seefeldt, associate director of Poverty Solutions, will be one of the main researchers evaluating the results of the pilot program over the next two years. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Seefeldt said Poverty Solutions was excited that city officials selected them to run and evaluate the program.
“We’ve spent the summer figuring out how to design the program so that we could get it up and running at the start of the school year,” Seefeldt said. “We’re also working on surveys and ways to collect data so that we can see what the effect of receiving $528 a month for 24 months is on a whole variety of different outcomes, ranging from health and mental health to experiences with housing and food insecurity.”
Ann Arbor City Councilmember Linh Song, D-Ward 2, has advocated for this program since it was first proposed by city staff. In an interview with The Daily, Song said she hopes the program will encourage the city to further invest in welfare programs as emergency relief measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic expire.
“This seemed like a good opportunity to launch a pilot, given that there are all these other federal monies that were trying to help short-term, like the eviction moratorium, additional SNAP benefits, child care, child tax credits,” Song said. “I thought, ‘All these also have timelines that would expire, so if I were to do this pilot program, maybe it’s a way to demonstrate how these investments need to continue.’ ”
Song emphasized that the funds from the American Rescue Plan must be allocated to city projects by 2024 and completely used by 2026. In a press release last year, Governor Gretchen Whitmer said the federal funding was intended to allow city officials to allocate funds where they will have the biggest impact.
“As we focus on growing our economy and creating good-paying jobs, today’s over $321 million in funding will help counties, cities, villages, and townships across the state invest in local roads and bridges, support essential workers, and protect safe drinking water,” Whitmer said. “Local officials have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make lasting investments in the kitchen-table issues that matter most.”
The American Rescue Plan has been used to provide funding for various relief programs such as the HOME-ARP, which supports those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless by providing housing, rent assistance and other social services. Ann Arbor’s program differs from many of these projects because it involves research to demonstrate the impacts of a guaranteed income program. The inclusion of a control group will help researchers determine how the additional money directly affects local business owners. Song said she hopes the results of the study will be useful in the future.
“I’m so glad it’s a research study, and not just an administrative program sending out the funds,” Song said. “I’m hoping it will demonstrate that folks who struggle, work very, very hard and work multiple jobs, are the cornerstones of their communities.”
Because the Ann Arbor pilot is focused on providing funds to low-income entrepreneurs — many of whom may not be able to commit to their business full-time — Seefeldt said they will examine how the funding might allow small businesses to grow.
“We’re interested in seeing whether or not an infusion of cash helps folks who want to grow businesses,” Seefeldt said. “Does this help them do that? Or, alternatively, does it provide a cushion for folks who are doing side work? Does this give them the opportunity to pull back from that (work) and engage in other things that are important to them?”
In Ann Arbor and across Washtenaw County, Song said there is variance in the socioeconomic level of residents, as well as education, life expectancy and housing supply. Song said she hopes the program will help ensure that entrepreneurs all across the city have access to the same opportunities.
“It’s huge, these really stark contrasts across zip codes and even across neighborhoods in our city,” Song said. “My hope is that guaranteed income can help meet those gaps in care and services, and hopefully push us towards a better conversation on the inequities that continue to plague our communities.”
Daily Staff Reporter Madison Hammond can be reached at madihamm@umich.edu.
Related articles
[ad_2]
Source link