Washington D.C.'s First Guaranteed Income Program!
The Social Justice School (SJS), in partnership with the Mother's Outreach Network (MON), is launching the first ever intergenerational guaranteed income project for students and families in Washington, D.C.! We are so proud to be a part of this historic and innovative project.
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Update: Our first pilot of the program was a great success! We gave up to $800 a month, over three months, to 15 households--100% of families reported being able to meet their basic needs while in the program.
Keep scrolling to see videos and quotes from families in our program. If you are interested in supporting families in Guaranteed, Together, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to this program here.
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WATCH A VIDEO ON WHY WE MADE GUARANTEED, TOGETHER
Your donation makes a difference.
In Winter 2024-25, The Social Justice School wants to support (6) families with gifts of $550 each! Your dollars have a real impact: $160 provides a monthly stipend for a child enrolled in our program, and $375 covers a family's monthly stipend, helping them meet their basic needs like rent, clothing, food, and more. This winter, help us ensure that every family has the resources they need not just to survive, but thrive.
What is "guaranteed income"?
You may previously heard about Universal Basic Income (UBI). This is similar, but different.
“Basic income” is a regular cash payment to all members of a community, without a work requirement or other conditions. Universal Basic Income projects have been run with successful results in many countries such as Kenya, Finland, Namibia, India, and Canada.
“Guaranteed income” refers to a regular cash payment accessible to certain members of a community, with no strings attached (ie, unconditional). Guaranteed income redistributes wealth to people who need it most and who’ve historically been impacted by lack of opportunities—largely people of color.
about our program
GUARANTEED, TOGETHER WAS FEATURED IN
the pilot PROGRAM
WHAT
In Summer 2024, we ran our pilot program for Guaranteed, Together. The below information shares the details of that work.
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Guaranteed, Together is a three-month pilot program that will include both direct cash benefits and legal education services.
There will be 15 households in the program. Each household will receive $800 per month, distributed in weekly increments.
MON will sustain and assess the efficacy of the program (with the goal of presenting findings to encourage more guaranteed income policies).
WHo
Families who are enrolled at SJS for the 2024-2025 school year and meet specific socioeconomic eligibility criteria (details below) qualify for consideration! In collaboration with the SJS, MON will identify and enroll approximately 15 households (of youth and families) into the pilot program who:​
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have transition-aged youth and families involved with and/or at-risk of involvement with CFSA
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reside in communities east of the Anacostia River (i.e., Wards 5, 6, 7, 8)—communities that have historically been impacted by adverse social determinants of health (i.e., housing insecurity, food insecurity, etc.)
A Community Advisory Board will work with SJS and MON.
WHEN
The program is expected to start in early summer, with program participants receiving funds as well as completing programming in June, July, and August 2024.
HOW TO APPLY
Our Summer 2024 program is finished. If you are still interested in receiving benefits in the future, please call our front office and let us know! We will also be reaching out directly to qualifying families. We are honored to bring this opportunity to our families!
about mon
We are honored to be parting with MON on this historic initiative.
Mother’s Outreach Network (MON) is a racial justice and antipoverty organization that supports Black mothers in advancing Black family preservation, economic security, and racial justice by transforming government income and child welfare laws, policies, and practices from punitive to empowering.
A short video from MON