Skye from Altoona loves her new job, even though it’s a 45-minute commute. She works at a hospital where she cleans and sterilizes surgical tools. It’s a field that had never crossed her mind until she enrolled in a job training class. But the single mother of two said it’s a welcome change from cooking at a chain restaurant and delivering sandwiches.
“I didn’t think I would be 33 starting my career, but I’m so proud that I get to start a career. I’m doing it,” Skye said.
Skye is one of 110 people who were chosen one year ago to receive a monthly stipend through UpLift, a basic income pilot program in Polk, Dallas and Warren counties.
Without it, Skye said, the chain of events that took her to a new career would have been broken. She would not have been able to afford the car that she drove to the class that trained her for a new job at a hospital.
“I got to experience my first graduation — ever — by getting this certificate,” Skye said. “My kids got to be there and see mom graduate. It was really emotional for me for them to see that because I wanted them to see if mom can do it, they can do it, too.”
Five women, including Skye, told how they have used the $500 monthly payments from UpLift at an event in Windsor Heights Wednesday night. The event marked the program’s one-year anniversary, even as a new state law blocks cities and counties from making another program like it. The women used their first names only, to keep their participation in the program confidential.
They talked about overcoming mental health challenges that had held them back financially. The extra money, they said, allowed them to spend more time with family and relieved stress on relationships. It allowed them to move into safer neighborhoods and start businesses.
Nicole from Des Moines invested in a nonprofit business where she meets to talk with elderly residents so they feel less isolated. It’s an idea she had worked on before, but in order to qualify for Medicaid reimbursements she needed a certain form of insurance that she could not afford.
“We could have saved but something’s going to happen. Like, we had our sewer back up. Now we’ve got to fix the sewer,” Nicole said. “We can see the road, but we can’t go down it.”
Nicole said UpLift allows her to pay for the insurance she needs, and she is now in the process of acquiring Medicaid approval for her nonprofit, Let’s Convo.
“It may seem like something small, but it’s something big because it’s not just for our household, it goes out into the community. It goes out to our children,” Nicole said. “Then it’s that generational wealth that is just going to keep on going.”
Where the money goes
Most of the money spent through UpLift, so far, has gone toward day-to-day household costs.
Researchers are tracking the people in the program, and another 140 people who are not receiving payments, to understand the money’s impact. According to early data shared by UpLift, the largest share of the monthly payments was spent on food, 42%. Another 26% went toward retail sales and services which organizers said includes purchases at big box stores such as Target and Walmart. Transportation expenses accounted for 11% and housing took up 9%.
Skye said she still struggles with money, but the $500 per month from UpLift helps her take care of bills that she could not pay without it.
“It’s a real struggle when you’re a single parent and you don’t have familial support. You don’t have anybody who you can just call and say, ‘Hey, I’m struggling,’” Skye said. “It’s a very frustrating feeling, and having this money that I can count on every single month helps ease some of that stress, and the anxiety, and the frustration that I have every single month when it comes to my financial stability.”
There may not be another program like UpLift in Iowa anytime soon, however. Statehouse Republicans passed a law this year that prohibits cities and counties from enacting guaranteed income programs.
UpLift is operated out of the Harkin Institute at Drake University. The program received public funding, but organizers say support from private-sector donors will make it possible to finish out payments as scheduled through April 2025.
GOP lawmakers said guaranteed income programs are unsustainable. They called the programs a form of socialism and said that giving people money with no strings attached is a disincentive for them to lift themselves out of poverty.
Nicole said her story suggests something different.
“This is helping us as a whole. Then everything can get brighter,” Nicole said. “Look at the big picture. That's what I would like legislators to know. It's a ripple effect for good.”
