WXXI
Two years ago, when Evans Buntley entered Rochester’s Guaranteed Basic Income pilot program, he was struggling to get by, burdened by low income and the high cost of rent.
The program offered $500 per month for a year for extremely low-income Rochesterians, no strings attached. For Buntley, it ended in mid-2024. His life did not change radically as a result of the pilot, but he does feel it has given a stronger footing. He’s currently saving to buy a house and feels he’s made some steps toward financial stability.
“I can’t tell you how blessed I was to have that money on hand, knowing that it was helping families that were in need, including myself, to move forward in my gains financially,” Buntley said. “It even helped me to basically get my credit going right and just get on the right track.
“I was going through some changes at first, before I got into the program,” Buntley continued. “And it was kind of difficult trying to pay everything at one time, trying to get this done. And the GBI program just came along, and it just helped me build where I needed to be, where I needed to go.”
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