Nearly 100 people marched around Civic Center Park September 22 in support of expanding Denver’s basic income pilot program, which provides varying amounts of no-strings-attached cash to unhoused people.
The rally was hosted by the Denver Basic Income Project (DBIP), a nonprofit that has distributed no-strings-attached cash payments to over 800 unhoused people in Denver. Attendees included advocacy organizations like Servicios De La Raza, a 51-year-old advocacy organization that provides services for low-income earning households, as well as state lawmakers, local residents, and activists. It was held at the end of so-called the Denver City Council’s “Budget Week,” when the body reviews Mayor Mike Johnston’s proposed budgets and requests amendments.
Advocates at the march noted that Johnston’s proposed $1.74 billion budget for 2024 does not currently include any funding to continue DBIP. However, it does include $242 million to address homelessness and up to $100 million for affordable housing. In 2022, DBIP received a $2 million investment from Denver’s Department of Housing Stability.
“Poverty is a form of incarceration and abuse,” Mark Donovan, DBIP’s executive director, said on the steps of the Capitol. “It doesn’t have a place in a just and wealthy society. Cash is freedom.”
The rally was also held at a time when attitudes about governments providing Americans with a basic income are changing. In 2019, about 43% of Americans supported the idea of receiving a basic income, according to a Gallup poll. A 2021 survey by personal finance website MagnifyMoney.com found support for basic income had grown to 72%.
Other attempts at providing basic income have produced encouraging results. Stockton, California was the first U.S. city to pilot a basic income program in February 2019, which gave 125 unhoused people $500 per month for two years. Six in ten participants reported spending their money on food, clothes, and shelter while less than 1% spent their money on alcohol or tobacco, according to an analysis from the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, a nonprofit that ran the income pilot.
DBIP’s pilot has produced similar results. The program, involving 820 people, has three tiers of participation. One group receives $1,000 per month for 12 months. Another group receives $6,500 for the first month and then $500 for the subsequent 11 months. The third group, which is the program’s “control” group, receives $50 per month. DBIP’s midterm report found that participants mostly spent their money on food, debt, and housing necessities.
Other cities ranging from Birmingham, Alabama to Santa Clara, California and Gary, Indiana are also piloting basic income programs.
Some DBIP participants also spoke at the rally. One participant, April Marie, said the cash assistance helped her find an apartment to rent and finish her psychology degree. Another participant named Willie Larkins said the program “saved his life” and helped him get a car, a job, and an apartment.
DBIP has the support of some city leaders, but advocates are worried that political support for the idea may be waning.
Denver City Councilwoman Shontel Lewis, District 8, attended the rally as did state Representative Javier Mabrey (D-Denver). Lewis told the crowd about her struggles with housing stability growing up, which often resulted in her family making tough choices between putting food on the table or paying rent.
“Policies that address poverty are often written in a very black-and-white way and don’t account for the individual circumstances people face,” Lewis said.
Mabrey added basic income represents a departure from past policies that have failed to create a meaningful reduction in poverty and homelessness. He called on Johnston to extend funding the program and help prevent more people from losing their homes as the cost of living in Denver continues to increase.
“We should not be doubling down on the failed programs of the past,” Mabry said. “Instead, we should double-down on programs like [DBIP] that actually work.”
