Economic Security · Piloted 2022–2024
Project Empower
The first guaranteed income pilot for immigrant survivors of domestic violence and their children. Monthly cash was offered through the advocates they already trusted while they waited on their immigration cases.
- Pilot partner
- Tahirih Justice Center
- Rounds
- Two, 2022–2024
- Households
- 24 total
- Monthly cash
- $1,000 for six months, no strings
- Total distributed
- $144,000
Results
From the First Round
Source: Uplifting Immigrant Survivors: A Report on the Project Empower Guaranteed Income Pilot, Tahirih Justice Center and My New Red Shoes, February 2023.
The Model
How It Worked
Participants co-designed the pilot. They chose the amount and the timing: $1,000 a month, about a month's rent for many of them.
Cash, no strings
$1,000 a month for six months. Participants decided how to use it, from rent and food to medical bills and their children's activities.
Built on trust
Tahirih advocates who already knew each family ran the program alongside their legal and social services, so no one had to retell their story to a stranger.
Banking for everyone
Debit cards worked with or without a Social Security number, and participants kept their bank accounts after the pilot ended.
Insights
What We Learned
Survivors are experts in their own lives.
Trusted to make their own choices, participants spent on what their families needed most. One finally paid for dental work she needed because of the abuse.
A bank account is a path to independence.
Economic dependence often keeps survivors tied to their abusers. Half the participants had no bank account before the pilot. All of them left with one.
Flexible cash builds resilience.
Emergencies were common. Half of first-round participants and 10 of 14 in the second round faced one, from a broken foot to a lost job. The cash helped them get through it without falling further behind.
Joy matters too.
Every participant said the money brought joy to their family. Parents celebrated birthdays for the first time, and one signed her son up for soccer.
Flexibility has to be built in.
A third of participants withdrew cash, a third used the card and a third did both. Many survivors pay rent in cash, so the model has to allow for it.
In Their Words
“The help brought a lot of happiness to me and my children because for the first time I was able to celebrate their birthdays.”
“…I did not need a second job and was able to be present and spend more time with my husband and children, which is irreplaceable.”
“We no longer have to rent out my room. We have our own space for my son and I.”
“What they didn’t have is a lot of access to resources or support. The project focused on removing structural barriers so the participants could stand in their own power.”
Ready to Grow
What the Next Phase Needs
The model is ready for a funding partner who wants to take it further.
Every stage of the legal process
The pilot focused on families who had filed and were waiting on a decision. Test the model with families at other stages, from first filing to newly authorized to work, to learn when cash makes the biggest difference.
More time
Six months got families through immediate needs, but survivors often wait years for their immigration cases. Extend payments to 18 months, in line with many guaranteed income pilots, and follow families over time to see what lasting stability looks like. Participants asked for the same thing.
A case for policy change
Immigrant survivors are left out of most public safety-net programs. Design the next round so its results can make the case for including them in public guaranteed income programs.
Talk with Sue Sutherland, Director of Advancement, at sue@mboldenchange.org.