Cash as Care:
Healthy Moms.
Healthy Families.
Healthy Communities.

A federal guaranteed income is a public health intervention whose time has come.

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Vision

Vision

The conditions in which we work, live, play, and worship shape our health, and each of these is affected by access to income and wealth. True economic security means everyone has the resources and agency needed to be healthy.  A federal guaranteed income has the potential to be a powerful public health intervention because of the critical role income plays in shaping health outcomes.

We know from the data that women, specifically women of color, are who we fail most when it comes to the role economic stability plays in health outcomes. A guaranteed income can specifically support women of color by counteracting centuries of labor extraction and longstanding exclusion from both high wage positions and opportunities for wealth-building. Although guaranteed income alone cannot resolve the deep, persistent, and harmful outcomes of racism and misogyny, alongside other structural reforms,  it can be part of a plan to improve health outcomes and reduce mortality rates saving thousands of lives and supporting healthy families and communities.

Dr. Aisha Nyandoro of Springboard to Opportunities hosted the Guaranteed Income Community of Practice’s annual Mother’s Day event to uplift how guaranteed income can be an anti-racist public health intervention that uplifts women of color. After a fireside chat with Dr. Zea Malawa of Expecting Justice’s Abundant Birth Project, Melissa Harris-Perry moderated a panel featuring Magnolia Mother’s Trust guaranteed income recipient Tamika Calhoun, Bridge Project guaranteed income recipient Daniela Gutierrez, Patanjali de la Rocha, implementation designer of The Perigee Fund pilot program, and Michelle Lockhart, a participant in the Old Fourth Ward Economic Security Taskforce.
Challenge

Challenge

Income is an essential determinant of health. Yet  Black, Brown, Indigenous, and immigrant women in particular continue to be systematically denied the very resources that support health. From disproportionately being pushed into low-wage jobs to being paid less relative to their white counterparts, women of color continue to be excluded from many of the established avenues for generating income and wealth today. 

Mothers of color confront not only the lower-wages and restricted access to well-paying jobs but also an undersupply of affordable childcare and the additional burden of child care responsibilities. Despite these barriers, mothers1 have long led the fight for the resources to care for themselves, their families, and their communities. Guaranteed income provides not only an income floor to support these mothers, but also the tools and opportunities necessary for them to support their families and continue to strengthen their communities. 

Cash as care is not only about the ability to care for one’s self and one’s family, but about supporting and resourcing the care and work already done by so many. 

  1. We lean into the framework and definition offered by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance that recognizes Black moms as those who care for and mother Black families and communities—whether they are trans, cis, or gender non-conforming. We thus use the term mother or mama to mean people who parent, care for, and nurture their families and communities, inclusive of all gender identities.
What We Do

What We Do

The Cash As Care report explores how guaranteed income provided to women of color, and specifically to Black, Brown, Indigenous, and immigrant mothers, can lead to improvements in health, family, and extended community relationships, and general quality of life for everyone.

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Economic Security Project and the Guaranteed Income Community of Practice celebrated Mother’s Day by honoring the mothers participating in various guaranteed income projects across the nation. Artist Iman Geddy created portraits of mothers for inclusion in the 2022 report.