Aisha Nyandoro CEO of Springboard to Opportunity said that the pilot project mirrors other basic income projects across the country and the world. Magnolia Mother’s trust is the first initiative of its kind to focus on low-income black mothers. Springboard, a Jackson-based organization that helps families find affordable housing, has partnered with Economic Security Project, as well as other private donors outside of the state, to finance the project. Nyandoro explained that the idea was born from Nyandoro talking to her clients who earn an average $11,030 per year about their needs. Nyandoro was told by one woman that she had enough money to pay for her daughter’s entry into a science competition. Nyandoro stated that women will use the money for everyday things they take for granted. Magnolia Mother’s Trust will select the women through a lottery system in November. The pilot will start in December. Springboard and Washington, D.C.-based policy research group New America released a report last year titled “Becoming Visible”, which examined public assistance in Mississippi. According to the report, Mississippi’s services are among the most “poor and inaccessible” in the country. Only 5,682 Mississippi low-income families were able to receive benefits from Temporary Assistance for the Needy Families in 2016. This is despite the fact that one-in-five Mississippians lives in poverty. The Mississippi basic assistance monthly benefit is $170. This compares to $442 nationally. Only 1.4 percent were approved for welfare in 2016. The state requires TANF applicants to pass drug and employment testing. Researchers discovered that applicants may be discouraged from applying for services if they have to jump through hoops. Magnolia Mother’s Trust’s website states that a minimum wage job does not provide sufficient income to support a family. The system for obtaining additional benefits is also stressful, dehumanizing and time-consuming. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as food stamps) also has a work requirement in Mississippi. In fact, the state is trying to add a work requirement to Medicaid beneficiaries, which is a program that provides health insurance for the very poor. As wages have stagnated in the United States despite productivity increases, the universal basic income model challenges society’s dependence on traditional employment. We need to expand our definition of employment. Nyandoro stated that employment does not include the work women do at home every day. Nyandoro said that when a child care provider or home health worker takes care of someone else, it is considered work. However, this does not apply if they are caring for their child or an ailing parent. She said that Nyandoro’s three-month maternity leave was the most difficult she had ever experienced. She said, “We don’t give people enough credit.”