Last year, 110 Birmingham residents received $375 a month for a 12-month period through the Embrace Mothers guaranteed income program funded by Mayors for a Guaranteed Income.

Forty-eight mayors have adopted these pilot programs, so what have we learned about guaranteed income?

The community is invited to learn about guaranteed income programs in Birmingham and other cities through a free screening of the new film “It’s Basic” at the Woodlawn Theatre on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. The documentary will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Embrace Mothers recipients from 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. This event is part of the Guaranteed Income Works National Tour.

Mayor Randall Woodfin will be joined by Adrian Perkins, the former mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana, for a discussion about the benefits of guaranteed income on children’s well-being. A new research brief compares guaranteed income programs in both those cities along with Atlanta and Louisville, Kentucky.

---

“It’s Basic” Screening

When: Tuesday, Nov 28, 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Where: Woodlawn Theatre, 5503 1^st Ave N
Free Registration on Eventbrite

---

MGI was founded in 2020 by Michael Tubbs, former mayor of Stockton, California. The coalition now boasts more than 120 mayors advocating for a federal guaranteed income — a national program to provide direct, recurring cash payments to middle- and low-income people. The coalition grew in 2023 with the formation of Counties for a Guaranteed Income to include city and county policymakers.

8,000 Applicants

The Embrace Mothers pilot program was focused especially on supplementing incomes of single mothers or other caregivers. Birmingham was one of 20 cities participating in the initial pilot, receiving $495,000 in funding from the nonprofit organization Mayors for a Guaranteed Income.

More than 8,000 mothers were seeking economic stability when they applied for the Embrace Mothers program in Birmingham. But the program could fund only 110 mothers. Woodfin reported, “over 19,000 women at least started an application during the one-week period — a figure equivalent to nearly 100% of the city’s total population of single female heads of household.”

From March 2022 to February 2023, the program provided $375 a month in supplemental income, without restrictions, to 110 single mothers or other eligible caregivers. These 110 caregivers received a total $4,500 each by the end of the 12-month program.

“For me,” Woodfin wrote in a statement, “the bottom line is this: When women succeed, families succeed.” The path to a prosperous future for the city, he argues, is through supporting the households of the city.

“It’s Basic” was directed by Emmy award-winning director Marc Levin, and it premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in June 2023. The documentary illustrates how guaranteed income can change lives by providing economic security and opportunity.