A few hundred homeless people in Denver, Colorado will get free phones and monthly money from the Denver Basic Income Project. But not white, single homeless men, they get nothing.
According to DailyWire, Denver plans to dole out free phones and $12,000 apiece to 140 homeless women and transgender and “non-binary” people over the next year as part of a bigger partnership with a local nonprofit.
The 501(c)(3) nonprofit got a jump start with a $2 million grant from the American Rescue Plan Act. The nonprofit hopes to raise an additional $7 million from charitable foundations to help a maximum of 840 homeless.
Housing Stability and Homelessness Resolution Deputy Director Angie Nelson said participants include people currently using local resources, such as shelters, who are not drug addicts. People who have severe, unaddressed mental health will also not be eligible.
Here’s what Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said in a statement:
“The Denver Basic Income Project is an opportunity to explore how the philanthropic community and the private sector can augment public support for those living in poverty, particularly our unhoused neighbors, and extend that hand up to stability.”
Nelson declared the city wants to provide direct cash payments to women, transgender, and gender nonconforming people.
The DBIP plans to create different classes of recipients to figure out how to maximize helping the homeless with limited resources.
Denver Basic Income Project chooses the participants, according to an Axios report. “As excited as we are about it, this isn’t something you can call in and apply for,” Nelson told Axios Denver.
Overall, 520 Denver homeless will get $12,000 for one year as part of the project. Half of the hapless homeless selected by DBIP will get an upfront, no-strings-attached payment of $6,500 and then a monthly stipend of $500 for the next 11 months.
The other half will not get a lump sum advance payment but will get a larger, $1,000 per month stipend for 12 months. Another 300 people will be given a token $50 per month allowance to document outcome differences between the groups.
Donovan said all participants will be able to get a free phone with a year of service included, according to the report.
Sources: DailyWire, Axios, DenverHomelessOutLoud.org, CNN
