The Bridge Project

Launched in June 2021 by The Monarch Foundation, The Bridge Project is designed to support low-income mothers in New York City during the first 1,000 days of their children’s lives by providing them with consistent, unconditional cash on a biweekly basis.

SPENDING BREAKDOWN

The data in this pie chart shows aggregate spending for guaranteed income participants in New York City, NY. This includes all non-cash expenditures from the participants’ pre-paid debit card that is loaded with guaranteed income payments every two weeks.

Retail sales and services accounted for the largest share of spending, at 37.8%, followed by Food and groceries (33.6%) and Housing & Utilities (8.8%).

CHILD TAX CREDIT

The state of California saw significant reduction in poverty as a result of the largest, national pilot in the Child Tax Credit that was implemented as a result of the Covid Pandemic.

This program provided tax credit for eligible taxpayers with qualifying children in the form of cash payouts. The credit amount varied based on factors like the number of qualifying children and the taxpayer’s income. It can lower tax liability or result in a tax refund.

During the course of this pilot, it has been proven to reduce poverty for families with dependent children – in every state.

Poverty Rate (Under new tax credit)

12.8%

Percentage point reduction

7.3%

Percent change

36.2%

Poverty Rate (Current Law)

50.1%

DEMOGRAPHICS

Basic Information

sample size (Treatment Group)

900

Avg. Age of Respondent (years)

Children in Households

Have Children in Household

1 %

No Children in Household

5 %

Avg. children in Household

Avg. Household size

Gender

Male

1 %

Female

5 %

Other

5 %

Ethnicity

Hispanic

1 %

Non-Hispanic

Race

White

1 %

African American

5 %

American Indian/ Alaska Native

5 %

Asian

1 %

Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander

5 %

Other/ Mixed

5 %

Marital Status

Single

5 %

Married

5 %

Partnered/ in-relationship

5 %

Primary language at Home

English

5 %

Spanish

5 %

Other

5 %

Annual Household Income (in $USD)

Mean

$ 14000

Median

$ 10800

Featured Story

Christina

Christina is a single mother of a baby boy and an 11-year-old son who has autism. She says when she applied for other assistance programs, she was treated poorly. She describes her interaction at one local office, where a worker questioned her need: “The lady said ‘Well, you don’t look like you need this. This is for people who actually need it.’ And I was like – ‘What would make you think that I don’t need the help?’ And she said, ‘Well, look at the way you came in here dressed – look at your son.’ And I looked at her and I said, ‘Is your supervisor here?’ And that was even worse than the person working reception. The supervisor came out and was like, ‘Well, if you don’t like it, then you can leave – the door is here.’ And I’m like, for you to ask me because I look a certain way that I don’t need the help – that’s ignorant. How could you say that to me? I’m here because I need help. Just because I’m not dressed with holes in my shirt and my sneakers are fairly new, it doesn’t mean that I don’t need the help. I’m in a situation now where I need the help – I don’t work yet. It was just really bad.” She said her experience with The Bridge Project has been the complete opposite. “It’s a relief that I feel – everything that I went through and all of the struggles – and then The Bridge Project came along. I swear, if it wasn’t for The Bridge Project – I don’t know where I would be mentally, physically, etc. I feel emotional.” Christina is about to begin classes to become a Certified Nursing Assistant with the dream of becoming a Registered Nurse. She uses The Bridge Project money for necessities and to treat her kids to their favorite foods, like pepperoni.

Lisa has a two-month-old daughter who dealt with complications during labor and delivery. She has used The Bridge Project to cover the transportation to get her baby to her doctor’s appointments, and said finding out she was selected for the program during her pregnancy helped take some of the stress off her shoulders. “I thought forward and I said with the benefits I would get from The Bridge Project, the baby would definitely be able to have the things that she needs. I was a little less worried about where I was going to find diapers if I needed.” She was also able to afford a stroller for her daughter. Lisa is an artist and dreams of opening her own studio one day. She previously worked in sales, which required her to be on her feet all day and did not provide her with any parental leave. Receiving a guaranteed income allowed her to take care of her and her baby’s health, and to take time off after delivery. “I did save a lot just to be ready for her to come. And towards the end of the pregnancy, things got a little harder because I was told not to work, so I didn’t have the income that I was used to having. And after I had her, I wasn’t able to get maternity leave because of the type of work I do. So, this was a really big help to fill the gap.”

Featured Story

Lisa

Featured Story

Lucy

Lucy is the mother of a 1-year-old daughter and is expecting a second baby in October 2022. She has not worked since the pandemic began, out of concern for her pregnancy when she had to leave her 60-70-hour-per-week job as a manager. The Bridge Project funds allowed her to prepare for her daughter’s arrival. “It helped me a lot because I used the money to buy her [things] – everything goes to my daughter. So, it helped me save a lot…it helped me get her diapers and stuff like that because mostly, those are things that I use the money for. So, I don’t have to worry about that anymore and stuff like that.” If every new mom who needed it had access to a similar program, Lucy says it would make a huge impact on society. “I think it would be amazing. I think they would take a lot of stress off moms because you know, a lot of them go through postpartum depression, they don’t know what to do. Especially a mom that is doing it by themselves – they don’t have any income coming in. It’s a big help.”

Story content goes here

Featured Story

Name

Featured Story

Name

Story content goes here