A new guaranteed income program in South Fulton will give thirty families a thousand dollars a month for the next year.
The program is led by recording artist Sergio Kitchens, also known as “Gunna.” The program targets households with a 30349 zip code, an area where the rapper is from.
The artist’s program is in partnership with the California-based Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC), an advocacy organization formed to address systemic racism within the music industry.
Willie “Prophet” Stiggers, co-founder of BMAC, gave Gunna props for pushing the program.
“[And for being] willing to put his money where his mouth is and where his heart is in terms of really understanding that a lot of the issues that show up in our community –the root of it is poverty,” the co-founder said.
According to Stiggers, BMAC will work with the selected families to develop success plans while receiving the funds. The plans will also include other resources like mental health and wellness access.
In Georgia, at least two guaranteed income programs give cash directly to individuals and families — the Income Mobility Program for Atlanta Community Transformation (I.M.P.A.C.T) and the In Her Hands program through the Georgia Resilience and Opportunity (GRO) Fund.
GRO Fund Executive Director Hope Wollensack says guaranteed income programs are useful to those in need.
“Folks are more able to afford daily necessities,” Wollensack said. “They have more on-time housing payments, fewer evictions, and fewer utilities cut off. They’re more able to keep their cell phone bill on. That’s huge.”
As of now, Gunna’s 30349 Guaranteed Income Program is no longer accepting applications. The program plans to launch soon, but no specific date has been announced as of this publication.
