Why Durham is now giving $600 a month to over 100 people back from prison
Durham launched a guaranteed income program Tuesday that will give over 100 formerly incarcerated people $600 a month for the rest of the year.
The program planned to give 115 participants $500 per month when it was announced in 2021. A $100,000 anonymous grant increased potential recipients to 129, with the 109 people now selected getting a little more money.
“We had a number of challenges, [including] inability to reach individuals, re-incarceration and additional ineligible participants,” program director Syretta Hill wrote in an email to The News & Observer. “With the decrease in the number of participants, we were able to increase the monthly disbursement to $600 per month.”
Over 500 applicants signed up during a pre-screening process, which led to 288 eligible participants.
On-boarding process was a three phase process.
“Phase one was the initial call to the 129 randomly selected individuals we were provided from the Center for Guaranteed Income. Phase two was [the] benefits counseling and phase three was getting folks to begin the process of setting up the Steady app — the disbursement platform — and receive information on the participant’s beneficiary,” Hill wrote.
Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey contributed $500,000 to the Durham program through a grant he gave to mayors nationwide for guaranteed income programs. Former Durham Mayor Steve Schewel was one of them.
The Durham program has also received $190,000 in private funds and $110,000 from the city.
The pilot is meant to study the effects of guaranteed income on recidivism, re-incarceration and economic security. The Center for Guaranteed Income Research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice will evaluate the program.
Hill and others believe this pilot will benefit the city and participants by providing regular access to basic needs. Though the cash payments are unconditional, participants will be offered an opportunity to enroll in StepUp Durham’s job placement services.
StepUp Durham’s employment counselors and staff will support recipients with job readiness training, ongoing job search, and job retention support. They will help people pursue continuing education and work alongside them to secure transitional and permanent housing.
In 2018, nearly 750 Durham residents were released from North Carolina prisons, INDY week reported in a 2019 article.
Mayor Pro Tem Mark-Anthony Middleton and former Council member Pierce Freelon were responsible for establishing the program, in early 2021.
Middleton says having a steady source of income could help alleviate anxiety, reduce recidivism and help people make better choices.
“This grant shows that people, and not just in government, realize that economically stable people make for better neighbors,” Middleton told The News & Observer previously.
“My hope is that this will minimize the amount of bad choices that people make in order to do the things that are necessary just to maintain life and push back against the perception that this initiative subsidizes the misuse of the funds,” Middleton said.
This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 2:20 PM.