Front and Center offers first-person accounts of Black mothers living in Jackson, Miss., receiving a guaranteed income. First launched in 2018, the Magnolia Mother’s Trust (MMT) is about to enter its fifth cohort, bringing the number of moms served to more than 400 and making it the longest-running guaranteed income program in the country. Across the country, guaranteed income pilots like MMT are finding that recipients are overwhelmingly using their payments for basic needs like groceries, housing and transportation.
“One of my goals while in the program is to go back to school. …
“One of the other fun things I’ve been able to do with my son is take him to the new little kids museum. I always felt bad that I couldn’t do it before. When we went, he said, ‘Thank you, Mom. I thought you would never take me, you’re the best mom!’ It made me cry.”