Durham NC Program Offers $600 a Month to Recently Released Inmates

Launched in 2022, the guaranteed income pilot program is being offered again this year. In charge of the program, Syreeta Hill told ABC11 that by giving participants more money, it keeps them out of the criminal justice system.

Participants must be 18 years old, residents of Durham County, and have served time in prison within the past five years in order to be eligible.

The program is run by the nonprofit group StepUp Durham.

Syretta Hill, executive director of StepUp Durham, reported that over 300 applications were submitted for the program before the application deadline.

"Guaranteed income looked like 600 a month for a year for 109 formerly incarcerated individuals," Hill stated. "Giving people unrestricted money works. It helps people take care of their basic needs."

Photo bySOPA Images via Getty Images

While the initiative has drawn criticism, according to city officials, the perception was incorrect.

Mayor Pro Tem Mark-Anthony Middleton remarked, "I've gotten all kinds of emails and texts of folks saying you're giving money away to ex-cons." "Surprise surprise folks paid bills and did things for their kids."

He explained to ABC11 that the city has allocated $1 million for the next round of participants in the program since there's a excellent reason to do so going forward. This occurs as guaranteed income pilots, like Durham's, continue to garner national attention.

Selection for the second group of participants might begin as early as this spring.

"During COVID-19 if we sent a check to people with jobs we call it stimulus because it stimulates the economy," he stated. "If we do it on the regular for everybody it's called subsidized pathology? It's a good economic practice. It betters the economy. "

Grants from private contributors, such as Twitter, are financing the initiative.

According to Hill, one strategy to assist in keeping these people on the right track and contribute to a decrease in crime is to make sure they have the money for accommodation and food while they look for work and try to advance.

“We have to figure out a way to stop penalizing people for mistakes that they’ve made and broken systems that they’ve been caught up in,” Hill stated. “We have to have them really think about if we don’t have everyone in our community thriving, the impact that has on our entire community.”

Sources:

https://abc11.com/durham-excel-guaranteed-income-former-incarcerated-success/13992280/

https://myfox8.com/news/north-carolina/guaranteed-basic-income-north-carolina-city-to-give-500-a-month-to-129-formerly-incarcerated-people/