Newark Equity

A Guaranteed Income (G.I.) is an unconditional monthly cash payment given directly to individuals – no strings attached and no work requirements. Guaranteed income is rooted in a history of racial justice – in 1967, against a similar backdrop of civil unrest and racial reckoning, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., called for guaranteed income as the simplest and most effective solution to poverty.

Q: How is this different from Universal Basic Income (UBI)?

A: UBI is a government program that proposes providing every citizen with a lump sum of income every year with no strings attached. Guaranteed income, on the other hand, argues for providing cash payments to specific, targeted communities in order to address income inequality. It focuses on providing cash payments to people living below the poverty line or with inconsistent or no income. Please learn more here.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has unfolded in the US one thing remains clear:

OUR SOCIAL SAFETY NET MUST BE STRENGTHENED.

In the U.S., our current social safety net is made up of programs that include Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the earned income tax credit (EITC), and Medicaid.

Current Social Safety Net

While the social safety net works for some people, NOT EVERYONE who needs these programs can access them. So how can we serve more people and strengthen our social safety net?

We believe guaranteed income can supplement rather than replace the current social safety net. It serves as a built-in income floor for those without one.

Current Social Safety Net
with Guaranteed Income

The Newark Movement for Economic Equity will target residents who are part of the social safety net and residents who might be less likely to access to the social safety net.

Why Newark
and
Why Now?

Newark is a city with a growing corporate footprint, a bustling startup community, dedicated and long-standing anchor institutions, and a renowned arts scene. New Jersey’s most populous city has never shied away from taking bold risks and creating new programs to improve the overall well-being of residents. Today, Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka is implementing a series of diverse reforms to create more economic opportunities for Newark residents with a focus on equity.

Launching a guaranteed income pilot in Newark will help test theories about how to create sustained community development. After the two-year period, the city of Newark will use data and lessons learned to change existing policies and help build a stronger, more inclusive social safety net. Learn more about Mayor Baraka’s vision for the Newark Movement for Economic Equity here.

Newark Mayor, Ras J. Baraka

Our
Team

Newark Philanthropic Liaison

Kevin Callaghan

Kevin works directly with Mayor Baraka and his senior cabinet to leverage private and government assets to support the Mayor’s agenda in areas such as public safety, summer youth employment, workforce development, economic development, health and wellness, education and literacy, immigration, and neighborhood and place-based initiatives. Since 2019, Kevin has been instrumental in building the foundation for Newark’s Guaranteed Income Pilot through assembling the 30-person task force and exploring details about how to launch a Newark-specific pilot. Kevin also resides in Newark.

Co-program Manager

Kaleena Berryman

Kaleena Berryman is a seasoned strategist with over 15 years of experience in developing and implementing high quality impactful community programs, communications, and creating a culture within organizations that centers community, parent and youth engagement and empowerment, leadership development, and civic engagement. Born and raised in Newark, NJ, Kaleena K. Berryman graduated with honors from Arts High School in 2000 as a Television Communications major. After being awarded a Presidential Scholarship to William Paterson University, Kaleena earned a Bachelor’s degree in Communications in 2004, with a minor in African American and Caribbean Studies. She served as President of William Paterson’s college chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and founded the first culturally responsive campus monthly publication, entitled UMOJA, in 2007. In January 2011, she earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Rutgers University-Newark. In 2021 she founded K Berryman Consulting, LLC, which provides consulting services to organizations, school districts, municipalities and companies looking to improve their community facing work and to support these entities in amplifying community voices, shifting power to the people, and providing high quality services, programs, and opportunities to the parents, students, and residents they serve.

Co-program Manager

Yolanda Greene

With close to 20 years as a teacher and administrator at the elementary level, Yolanda is a life-long resident of Newark bringing with her a vast array of experiences working with families and the public interest sector. Currently, she leads the parent work at the Abbott Leadership Institute at Rutgers University in Newark. She is also a part-time student at Rutgers Law School, focusing on educational equity and justice for children and families.

Research Associate

Sophia Glaspie

Sophia is a part-time student at the Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration earning her Masters Degree. She is also working in Newark at a community-based nonprofit called Programs for Parents. Sophia has a background in Information Systems and is very interested in community development and working in social services.
Fun Fact: Sophia likes to turn her cupcake into a cupcake sandwich so it isn’t too sweet!

Research Associate

Tonanziht Aguas

Tonanziht is an undergraduate Honors student at Rutgers University-Newark. She is majoring in Economics and Political Science while also minoring in History. Tonanziht has interned at the NJ Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, been a research assistant at the Rutgers University International Institute for Peace, and is committed to tackling social justice issues from immigration to education to economic justice as a future public servant. She was also born and raised in New Jersey.
Fun Fact: Tonanziht always enjoys picking up new things to learn. Recently, she’s been learning Chinese!

Research Associate

Genesis Vasquez

Genesis was born and raised in Newark, NJ, and is still a proud resident of the city. She has dedicated her professional life to promoting the well-being of children and families. Through her current role as a Family Support Worker, Genesis is able to support parents and caregivers in establishing healthy relationships with their children, and support the family unit as a whole. This role has also provided the invaluable opportunity to learn about effective outreach strategies and ways to promote community engagement. Genesis is currently a student at Rutgers University.
Fun Fact: She is very athletic!

Our
Process

In 2019, the Newark Guaranteed Income Task Force was formed to explore how a guaranteed income – regular, unrestricted infusions of cash – might provide an effective solution to meeting the financial security needs of Newark residents. The task force was made up of 33 organizations across Newark and New Jersey that came together for one year to map out how a guaranteed income pilot could be carried out in Newark. This year-long investigation led to a key set of recommendations about how Newark should shape its guaranteed income pilot.

2019

The Newark Guaranteed Income Task Force released a report co-authored by the city of Newark, the Jain Family Institute, and the Economic Security Project in June 2020 titled, Building Financial Security: Newark’s Roadmap Toward a Guaranteed Income. In this report, the task force called for Newark to launch a pilot with a focus on providing guaranteed income to housing insecure populations. To build on this momentum, Newark became the second city to join Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI), a coalition of a dozen mayors from around the U.S advocating for a guaranteed income. Jack Dorsey’s initial $3 million grant to MGI helped the city to receive a planning grant.

2020

The team rebranded the pilot and gave it a new name: Newark Movement for Economic Equity. The team is actively planning for a Spring 2021 launch to start with a cohort of 30 Newark residents. The Program Manager has been collecting lists from various community-based organizations and departments across the city of Newark in order to begin the selection process.

2021

Research
Design

This program cannot happen without buy-in from Newark residents. We envision involving 400 Newark residents for this research study. The Newark Movement for Economic Equity will focus on providing guaranteed income to housing insecure populations. Housing insecure is used as an umbrella term that encompasses individuals who experience several dimensions of housing problems including affordability, safety, quality, insecurity, and loss of housing.

All participants will be chosen at random.

Both groups will receive $12,000 over two years at different frequencies.

Group 1