grants for single mothers
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With a steady rise in inflation, the cost of living is unbearable for many Americans, but in particular those with more than one mouth to feed. 

It’s no secret that the U.S. economy has historically failed Black people, however, for a select group of single mothers in Birmingham AL, help is on the way. 

Thanks to a $500,000 grant by the Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI), female-identifying heads of family caring for at least one child could qualify to receive $375 per month for one year.

According to MGI’s website, they are “Rooted in Dr. King’s legacy, mayors across the country are coming together to advocate for a guaranteed income—direct, recurring cash payments—that lifts all of our communities, building a resilient, just America.”

And that’s very true. So much so in fact Birmingham’s Randall Woodfin is now the 63rd Mayor in the country to utilize the beneficial program. 

Mayor Woodfin launched new pilot program to benefit 110 single-mother households in Birmingham. Photo via Libby Foster for Bham Now

Applications will open for just one week

In October 2021, his City Council approved the Embrace Mother’s Plan. It’s a research pilot partnership with MGI that will soon randomly select 110 qualified applicants to receive financial supplements for an entire year.

In the city of Birmingham, where 60 percent of all households are single-mother led, Mayor Woodfin states “This program stands to help these courageous women establish a solid footing during a time that has been very unsteady.”

Applications can be submitted here for one week only, starting at 8 a.m. on Jan. 31 and concluding at 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 7.

Mayor Woodfin added, “Women and mothers specifically are the nucleus of our families and communities. By putting financial resources into homes, we not only improve the outcomes for women but for children and the greater community at large. I am proud that Birmingham is the first city in Alabama to take this approach in partnership with MGI.”

As past and present Presidential administrations fail to establish a living wage, programs such as MGI are filling in the ever-widening income gap for those who nurture the future.

Hailing from Charlotte North Carolina, born litterateur Ezekiel J. Walker earned a B.A. in Psychology at Winston Salem State University. Walker later published his first creative nonfiction book and has...

One reply on “No-Strings-Attached payments for Birmingham single mothers”

  1. “60% of all families in a major city are headed by single mothers.” What is the social dynamic in the South that accounts for such a lopsided total? I know black men are incarcerated at a rate approaching 10 to one compared to white men. But if this is for the entire population it means a lot of white fathers are missing also. What is it about the South that has so many broken families? I know Southern politicians are the first to proclaim that San Francisco values and Coastal elites are destroying the nuclear family by supporting transgender and gay kids and living under socialism, supposedly. But we do not have anywhere close to 60% of our families run by single women. Is it the common wage suppression of Southern States and the much more blatant racism in all areas of life in the South? I know North Carolina is much more progressive than Alabama where this story is from, but can you explain why this is?

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