In the wake of skyrocketing costs of living and an ongoing housing crisis in NYC, the non-profit organization The Bridge Project is looking to support under-earning, first-time mothers who are currently expecting.
As a part of their May 4 Moms campaign, The Bridge Project is expanding its program that provides first-time mothers with cash assistance to Brooklyn and Staten Island. According to the organization’s website, they are New York City’s first guaranteed income program.
“The Bridge Project, a 501(c)3 organization, supports healthy development for babies during their first 1,000 days of life by providing their mothers with consistent, unconditional cash on a biweekly basis for three years.” states The Bridge Project website.
The Bridge Project, which was started by a venture capitalist husband and wife on behalf of The Monarch Foundation, allotted $16.2 million in 2022 to help over 600 low-income mothers in NYC.
The New York Times in a 2022 article referred to the program, which gives mothers up to $1000 in cash allowance, as “an experiment in the fast-growing field of anti-poverty policy known as guaranteed income.”
The program already supports mothers in Washington Heights and other northern Manhattan areas, and the Bronx. Aside from the open applications for Brooklyn and Staten Island, the program aims to also expand to Queens by this summer. Mothers have a complete choice of how they spend the cash allowance, which is an intentional decision by the organization.
“Research in and out of house shows that most moms use it for diapers, wipes and childcare!” said officials at The Bridge Project. “The idea is basically that we trust moms to know what their family and kids need, as opposed to current public assistance programs that say ‘You can only get X brand of this or this size of this’ and doesn’t cover diapers or childcare.”
Prospective applicants can apply here. Applications close Friday, May 19th at 5 p.m. In order to qualify, applicants must live in Central Brooklyn or the North Shore of Staten Island, be 18 years or older, have a due date between August 31st and October 27th, and have an annual household income under $52,000.