Durham's Guaranteed Income Pilot Program
Published: January 26, 2023 | 7:39am EST
Photo by Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons | The Chronicle
After receiving positive feedback on Durham’s guaranteed income pilot program for formerly incarcerated residents in the city, nonprofit StepUp Durham, which administers the program, hopes for additional funding to continue its efforts.
Since March 2022, 109 formerly incarcerated Durham residents have received monthly stipends of $600 through the Excel Pilot Program. The pilot is slated to end in February.
The one-year pilot was designed to “evaluate guaranteed income’s effects on recidivism and re-incarceration, employment, economic security and income volatility.”
Proponents of the program hope these payments will curb high recidivism rates — North Carolina’s statewide rates were over 40% less than 10 years ago — by guaranteeing some economic security.
“We believe a guaranteed income can help ensure a successful transition home by providing a much needed additional source of income to give people time to build a new life and find a new way,” states Durham's executive summary of the guaranteed income pilot.
According to Shanti Callender, the Excel coordinator for StepUp Durham, the objectives of the program were not only reached but “went beyond belief.” Now, the main challenge is securing the funds needed to expand Excel into the future.
Funding for the program is led by a $500,000 grant from Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, while StepUp and the City of Durham worked with private donors to secure over $200,000 in additional capital. While these were enough to get the pilot up and running, additional sponsors will be critical to incorporate more participants into Excel and provide them with more robust and specialized resources, according to StepUp leaders.
“The last disbursement of Excel will take place Feb. 15, and as of right now, there are no commitments to continue the program ... Funding is an initial challenge to continuing this pilot,” wrote StepUp Executive Director Syretta Hill.
Also, it’s unclear if the payments would change, depending on the amount of funding that’s provided. But last time around, the payments went out to those who were incarcerated in the last five years. Durham residents must have also been at least 18 years old and had income that was no more than 60 percent of the area's median.To be considered, eligible residents must have submitted an application, which was selected randomly.
However, Hill noted that she expects that part of the conversations will include what has been learned about the program and if any eligibility requirements should be changed.
'The community is blind to this issue'
Plans for Excel began to take form in August 2021 when StepUp Durham was chosen by the Durham City Council to organize a guaranteed income pilot program. Participants had to be over 18, low-income (making at or less than 60% of Durham’s median income) and had to have been incarcerated within the last five years. Callender mentioned a few success stories from the pilot program that stood out to her.
In one case, a mother of four had her children taken by social services after being justice-involved for seven years due to a domestic violence incident. Through the Excel program, the mother managed to secure custody of her children again and is now able to support her family through a full-time job.
