By Charles Owens, Bluefield Daily Telegraph
PRINCETON — A nonprofit agency that helps the world’s poorest households is launching a guaranteed minimum income program in Mercer County.
GiveDirectly is partnering with area human service agencies and Mercer County Public Schools to support approximately 550 households, who will receive a $1,500 no-strings-attached monthly guaranteed income for 16 months. In addition to Mercer County, the agency also is launching the program in Beaufort County, N.C. and Warren County, Mississippi.
The application period for the program begins on October 14 and continues through October 31. Interested residents can review more information and apply at https://rise.aidkit.org/o/home. Eligible applicants will be invited to enroll using an equal opportunity random selection process, according to a press release from GiveDirectly.
In order to qualify for the monthly cash assistance, residents must be at least 18 years of age or older; must live in Mercer County; and must have a household income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.
In addition to the school system, GiveDirectly also is working with Community Action of Southeastern West Virginia in Bluefield; Legal Aid of West Virginia in Princeton; Second Chances; the Healthy Grand families program; and other agencies to bring the guaranteed minimum income program to Mercer County to support low income households.
The role of Mercer County Public Schools with the program is entirely informative and supportive, according to Alysha Jai Crawford, who serves as the school system’s Homeless Services/ICARE Facilitator.
“The school system became involved with GiveDirectly’s initiative through a connection with CASEWV,” Crawford said. “They identified Mercer County Public Schools as a trusted community anchor essential for successfully reaching and engaging eligible families. Our involvement is a direct extension of our commitment to the holistic well-being of our students. We recognize that financial stability and a reduction in poverty are foundational elements that directly impact a student’s ability to focus on and succeed in their education.”
CASE WV Chief Executive Officer Mary Turner said the Rural Income for Self Empowerment program will give low-income individuals the opportunity to leverage their financial situation towards greater, long-term outcomes. She said the program align’s with the vision of CASE to help individuals and families reach their full potential and will have a positive impact throughout Mercer County.
According to a news release from GiveDirectly, the Guaranteed Minimum Income is a tool to reduce poverty, build economic resilience and support opportunities such as entrepreneurship. The agency said rural communities face unique economic hardships due to declining populations, weakened industrial sectors, and reduced access to essential services, especially for older adults and other vulnerable populations. The non-profit said by providing a guaranteed income to selected families it can transform individual households and improve local economies in rural areas like Mercer County.
Messages left with GiveDirectly by the Daily Telegraph seeking further information on how the 550 families will be selected were not immediately returned.
When asked what was the role of Mercer County Public Schools in the program, Crawford said the school system was helping to disseminate program details to students’ families with student support staff assisting families in completing applications when needed.
“Just as we do with any other resource, we provide assistance to remove barriers to learning and educational stability,” Crawford said.
When asked if there were any concerns by the school system about the program sending the wrong message to young people or serving as a deterrent to pursing a career or gainful employment after graduation, Crawford said Mercer County Schools views the program as an investment in stability and opportunity, and not as a disincentive to work.
“We know from experience that the difficulties families face outside of school dramatically impact a child’s ability to learn,” Crawford said. “When families are wrestling with the high costs of housing, food, and lack of access to reliable transportation, that instability follows the student into the classroom. Since this program is temporary, lasting only 16 months, we view it not as a substitute for work, but as an investment in the stability of our students’ families. This support provides time and breathing room for families to address systemic barriers and transition into long-term self-sufficiency.”
Crawford said the 16 months of guaranteed monthly income also will give families an opportunity to climb out of poverty with support while enabling students to arrive at school focused, fed and ready to learn.
“Ultimately, this program supports — rather than discourages — our mission of preparing all students for successful, sustainable careers,” Crawford said.
Angela Ratliff-Emrich, the owner of Second Chances and Mercer County Coordinator for WVSU Healthy Grandfamilies, said in a news release that the program will empower families in Mercer County to achieve their full potential while fostering community growth.
According to the GiveDirect website, giving cash shifts power to the person living in poverty, recognizing they are the expert in their own lives and granting them the dignity to choose for themselves.
The website goes on to say that “dozens of studies” show that the cash recipients don’t work less or spend the money on alcohol. GiveDirect adds on the website that its research shows people who receive the guaranteed monthly cash income use the money on medicine, cows, goats, chickens, school fees, solar panels, tin roofs, irrigation and more.
But purchasing animals could be problematic locally.
While there isn’t zoning in Mercer County at this time, localities such as Bluefield and Princeton do not allow families to have cows, goats and chickens in the city limits.
The nonprofit says it has delivered $900 million in cash directly to more than 1.7 million people living in poverty since 2009, including in Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda and the U.S.
The program won’t begin taking applications for cash assistance until Tuesday, Oct. 14.
If you click on the link today, you get a message thanking you for your interest in the RISE GMI program. It informs you that the application period is not yet open, and to return to the website once the filing period opens on Oct. 14.
