Denver's basic income program faces end as mayor pulls support
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Mayor Mike Johnston cut funding for the Denver Basic Income Project, an experimental program that provides no-strings-attached cash to unhoused people in the city.
Why it matters: The lack of city support means the program's future is in jeopardy, despite early results showing guaranteed income led to more housing and fewer people sleeping outdoors or in shelters.
Context: Over 800 people experiencing homelessness have received unconditional cash payments of up to $1,000 a month from the more than $10.5 million directed toward the program since its 2021 launch.
- After one year, findings showed 45% of participants secured housing, while nearly $590,000 was saved in public service costs, including shelter, emergency health care and jail time.
- The project — which claims to be the largest of its kind in the nation — has been funded by the city and pandemic aid, as well as by local charitable foundations.
The latest: Johnston, an initial supporter of the plan, allocated zero dollars to keep it running in his 2025 budget proposal, which he unveiled last month.
- That comes after the city provided about $4 million to the project, including a $2 million cash infusion earlier this year to extend the project six months and add 39 more participants.
What they're saying: The "limited results" from the one-year report weren't compelling enough to make room for the project in an already historically slim spending plan, according to the mayor's office.
- "Unfortunately, the data … did not show a statistically significant difference in homelessness resolution between the groups that received large cash transfers and those who did not," Johnston's spokesperson, Jordan Fuja, told Axios Denver in a statement.
The other side: Johnston's decision has sparked protests at city hall from project supporters who are calling for more money and argue the data demonstrates success.
- "The basic income kept us going," Diantha Williams, whose daughter received $50 a month before her recent death from pneumonia, told Denverite.
What we're watching: Program advocates are looking for at least $5 million more to complete funding a third year for its initial participants.
- "When you see something that's working so well and has such potential, but then you're just not able to move it forward at the pace that would reach more people and reduce suffering and harm faster, you just feel this urge … to find a way," program founder and executive director Mark Donovan told Colorado Newsline.
What's next: The Denver City Council's deadline to pass the mayor's proposed budget is Nov. 12.