A year-long cash assistance program for low-income single mothers in Maine shows promising results, according to findings from the pilot program released yesterday.
The Quality Housing Coalition launched the basic income initiative last year, providing $1,000 monthly cash payments to 20 single mothers who had previously experienced homelessness. The participants were free to use the money as they saw fit.
Allison Edwards, of Portland, said the payments gave her the financial stability to be able to spend more time with her young daughter, Morgan.
"At the end of the day, I was able to come home and spend time with Morgan and watch her reach those developmental milestones instead of being distracted with paying the bills, how am I going to make ends meet?" she said.
Edwards added that she had the flexibility to handle emergency expenses, including renting a car for a week while hers was in the shop, so that she and her daughter Morgan didn't have to put their lives on pause.
"I was still able to take Morgan up to her daycare out in Westbrook, and then go all the way to South Portland for work and school, Pick her up back in Westbrook, and then return back home to Portland by the end of the night," she said.
By the end of the program, nearly half of the mothers said they could handle a $400 emergency expense, compared to almost none who said that at the beginning.
The study also finds a positive impact on mental health — with nearly all the mothers feeling optimistic about their financial future.
The Quality Housing Coalition is extending the program to a new cohort of 20 single mothers starting this month.
