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Miami Herald
5 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
$50 a week for 40 weeks: How no-strings cash changed the lives of teens
NEW ORLEANS - Kapri Clark used the $50 to help pay for her braces. Lyrik Grant saved half of it, and used the rest for dance classes. Kevin Jackson said he squandered the cash, on wings, ride shares for dates and some DJ equipment he later tossed. For the past five years, Clark, Grant, Jackson and hundreds of high schoolers in New Orleans have shopped - or saved - as part of a project to explore what happens if you give cash directly to young people, no strings attached. "That was the most helpful thing ever," said Clark, now a student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, who said she could still use that extra cash. "The $50 study," as it's known, began at Rooted School, a local charter school, as an experiment to increase attendance. The study has since grown to eight other high schools in the city, as well as Rooted's sister campus in Indianapolis, with students randomly selected to receive $50 every week for 40 weeks, or $2,000 total. By comparing their spending and savings habits to a larger control group, researchers wanted to figure out whether the money improved a teen's financial capability and perception of themselves. They also wanted to know: Could the cash boost their grade-point averages and reading scores? Now, as the experiment expands to Washington, D.C., and perhaps Texas, a final report of the $50 study suggests a little bit of spending cash can make a difference in young people's lives. The report, released Tuesday, shows students who received the cash payments were slightly more likely to attend school than those who didn't. Academic performance did not differ between the groups. But financially, the extra cash helped students acquire stronger long-term planning skills and familiarity with savings accounts and other financial products. They ended the study, on average, with $300 saved away - a 15 percent savings rate, triple the national average for American adults. "When young people are given the opportunity to manage money in low-stakes environments, they build the habits that shape long-term financial health," said Stacia West, an associate professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and co-founder of the Center for Guaranteed Income Research, which partnered with the Rooted School Foundation to run the study. "The short-term habits we're seeing are laying the foundation for lifelong financial capability." Related: A lot goes on in classrooms from kindergarten to high school. Keep up with our free weekly newsletter on K-12 education. Across the United States and the globe, hundreds of communities have tinkered with some form of universal basic income, or UBI, a social welfare program that provides people with regular cash payments to meet their needs. Direct cash transfer programs like the $50 study or the child tax credit for families are similar, but they often provide smaller amounts and target specific populations to boost a person's income. Many studies have linked UBI to financial stability and better employment and health outcomes. In the U.S. and Canada, researchers have found links between cash transfer pilots that focus on low-income families and better test scores and graduation rates for their kids. So far, though, few experiments have targeted young people or examined how the programs influence their lives specifically. "There's a deep, deep distrust that we adults have of young people," said Jonathan Johnson, CEO of the Rooted School Foundation, which operates the network's four charter schools. "That distrust is to their detriment." In New Orleans, roughly 4 in 5 of Rooted students come from economically disadvantaged families, and during the pandemic, many struggled to prioritize school. Some students skipped class to provide child care for their working parents, or because they needed to work themselves, according to Johnson. With some seed funding from a local education nonprofit, Rooted started a "micropilot" to test whether cash could help students make ends meet and get themselves to school. The original cohort included 20 students, half of whom received the $50 payment. In that micropilot, those receiving the cash saw their material wellbeing improve, meaning their family could more easily afford rent or utilities, and they gained skills around setting financial goals. Rooted added students from its Indianapolis campus and another high school in New Orleans, G.W. Carver. And for their final report released this week, researchers sifted through the spending and survey data from 170 students who received the cash payments and 210 students who did not. The two-year report found students in the treatment group attended 1.23 more days of school, and spent close to half their funds on essentials like food and groceries. The report also noted that 70 percent of all students at the participating schools qualify for subsidized meals, suggesting "this spending may reflect efforts to meet immediate nutritional needs." One 12th grader in a survey mentioned using the money to feed their siblings. Kapri Clark recalled waiting every Wednesday morning for the $50 deposit to appear in her banking app. And every Wednesday afternoon, during her senior year at Carver High School, she put that money toward her $200 bill for braces she covered out of pocket. She braided hair to cover the rest, and still books clients when she has time in between her studies to become a nurse at the Lafayette campus. Even in college, Clark can see the need for some supplemental income for herself and her peers. "I make enough to take care of myself, but I watch every dollar," said Clark. "There's a lot of people struggling in life to eat, to live. Think if they got kids." Read Irvin, chief of staff for Collegiate Academies in New Orleans, a network of five charter high schools that includes Carver High, said the $2,000 had provided the extra incentive a few students needed to stick it out until graduation. "That's incredibly impactful for their life trajectories," she said. Related: How to help young kids: Give their parents cash In January 2024, the city of New Orleans invested $1 million to bankroll another extension of the study, as part of an economic mobility initiative that tapped federal Covid relief funding. During the pandemic, a skyrocketing murder rate and spike in overall crime had convinced the city to help more residents, especially young people, find stability. "Research shows that people who are economically stable are less likely to commit crime," said Courtney Wong, the city's deputy director of economic development. The city funding not only expanded the $50 study to nine high schools, it also set a longer timeline for the research: About 800 seniors who participate will have their data tracked for 18 months after their graduation. A former high school teacher and administrator, Wong said $50 could have made a difference in the lives of many of her former students. "This targets young people in that perfect moment," she said. "They're in the right spot where even a little amount of help could have big, positive impacts before issues of crime or unemployment or things like that even come up." Researchers also found students who received the $50 reported greater agency. They felt more control over their finances and more confidence about making long-term financial decisions. Students, according to the report, aligned their spending to future goals such as college prep classes and getting a driver's license. Lyrik Grant, a rising junior at Carver High School, is the second-youngest of six kids with two working parents. She could ask them for help, but the $50 allowed Grant to afford the tights and tops she needed for dance class on her own. The money helped cover a college entrance exam, which she aced, and Grant wants to learn how to drive soon. "My first thought was: What am I going to do with all this money?" Grant said, adding that the cash helped some of her classmates find financial stability. "Children don't always want to spend their parent's money, and some parents don't always have money to give them." Still, for some students, the money wasn't exactly life-changing. Irvin of Collegiate Academies said many used the cash to "just be teenagers." That was true for Kevin Jackson, a rising junior at Rooted School New Orleans. "It's cool to get free money," he said. "I was spending it on the TikTok shop: posters, keyboards, lights - stuff I liked, not stuff I actually needed." Related: All-charter no more: New Orleans opens its first traditional school in nearly two decades Despite the studies that show a positive impact from UBI, many Americans appear skeptical of the idea of a federal program that gives unconditional financial support to people. Aditi Vasan, a pediatrician and researcher at PolicyLab at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said skeptics often worry about recipients using public dollars for drug use or other illicit behavior, even though the data does not support that. Still, that fear will likely keep any large-scale cash transfer program from being adopted in the United States any time soon, she said. "That concern exists certainly for cash transfers in general but might be particularly magnified for teens," Vasan said. "We've not seen that play out in the evidence from the quality studies that have been done." Next year, in Washington, D.C., the nonprofit Education Forward will fund a pilot of the $50 study with 40 high schoolers. The Rooted school network resumed talks, meanwhile, to take the study to neighboring Texas, after state lawmakers earlier this year failed to pass legislation that threatened to ban local governments from adopting guaranteed income programs. Talia Livneh, senior director of programs for the Rooted School Foundation, said the politics may need to catch up to the research. "I don't think what we're doing is so radical. I believe this just works," she said. "Kids don't lack character. They lack cash," Livneh added. "They deserve deep, deep trust that students and people know what's best for them." It's been four years since Vernell Cheneau III received the $50 for 40 weeks while a student at Rooted in New Orleans, and his economic life isn't easy. He struggled for months to find part-time work in his hometown. But on a recent summer morning, the same day he finally received a job offer, Cheneau recalled what he learned from the study. "You learn that money goes fast, especially if it's free," said Cheneau, 22. As a student, he tried to use the money to build some credit history. Since then, he's learned the full cost of being an adult in America: health care, fuel and maintenance for his car, getting your hair done before a new job. Cheneau has also spent that time trying to convince friends and family to support UBI. Most oppose giving "free" money to people, he said. "How much does it cost to feed children? Get to work? We can't just allow people to drown." "Everything costs something," Cheneau added. "If you're stuck in a rut, it's expensive to restart. In this country, it's expensive to be poor." Contact staff writer Neal Morton at 212-678-8247, on Signal at nealmorton.99, or via email at morton@ This story about cash transfer programs was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter. The post $50 a week for 40 weeks: How no-strings cash changed the lives of teens appeared first on The Hechinger Report.
CBC
6 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Nova Scotia's first land-for-housing project opens, 4 years after program launched
The Progressive Conservatives are making the first delivery of a promise made four years ago to turn surplus provincial land into affordable housing. Starting shortly after they were first elected in 2021, the PCs opened several calls for bids on land around the province with the intention of tying an agreement to each sale requiring some degree of affordability. A vacant lot on Circassion Drive in Cole Harbour went to non-profit housing developer Rooted — formerly known as the Dartmouth Non-Profit Housing Society — and was the first land-for-housing project to get underway. The project was recently completed and an 18-unit apartment building started taking tenants this month. Tenants in half the units are paying about 50 per cent below market rates. Eligibility is based on income. "This is smart public investment and we're proud to be delivering on it," said Nick Russell, CEO of Rooted, speaking at a ribbon-cutting event at the site Tuesday. According to property records, the province sold the quarter-hectare lot to Rooted for $720,000. The province said it put $4.5 million into the build, including $1.4 million from provincial coffers and $3.1 million from a federal fund the province manages under Canada's National Housing Strategy. Growth and Development Minister Colton LeBlanc said this case shows the land-for-housing program has been effective. But he acknowledged it's had challenges, pointing to the rising cost of construction and red tape that has to be cut through before building can even get underway. "We want to do more, and more of it faster. And as a government, we will do everything within our control to speed up those opportunities, those processes," he said. CBC News has asked the Department of Growth and Development for an update on the program. As of last year, the Circassion Drive project was the only land-for-housing project under construction, with seven others waiting for approvals. Two projects had dropped out after developers found the land to be unsuitable for development. Old apartment buildings purchased The province and Rooted have also partnered on the purchase of two existing apartment buildings on Gaston Road in Dartmouth, with the aim of keeping rents low in all units — 60 in one building and 24 in the other. Rooted is taking the buildings over from for-profit landlord Vida Living. Rents in the two buildings will be about 50 per cent below market rates. "It's about stability and making sure that those tenants feel comfortable and safe and in their communities," said Russell. Russell said the buildings — one of which was constructed in 1970 and the other in 1983 — need some maintenance and retrofitting. He said no tenants will be asked to leave for the work to happen. Dylan Ward, director of development for Rooted, said acquisition is "one of the most practical, high-impact strategies" for non-profits to expand their portfolios and protect affordable housing stock. He said Rooted is looking to do more of it. "What makes acquisition so powerful is that it removes housing from the speculative market permanently," said Ward. "Non-profit ownership ensures long-term affordability, tenant engagement and building improvements without the pressure to sell or price people out," he added. According to property records, Rooted paid $7.8 million for a 60-unit building and $3.1 million for the 24-unit building. Rooted bought the buildings on Gaston Road and will do some renovations with the help of $11.1 million from the province, including a loan of $8.9 million and $2.2 million in grants.
CTV News
7 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Nearly 100 new affordable housing units to open in HRM
The Crosswoods is a new 18-unit affordable housing complex in Cole Harbour, developed through a partnership between the Province and Rooted: Community Development Partners. (Source: Province of Nova Scotia) The Government of Nova Scotia announced Tuesday that the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) is receiving more funding towards almost 100 affordable housing units. Rooted: Community Development Partners, along with the provincial government, are funding the projects. Rooted is finishing construction on a new 18-unit complex on Circassion Drive in Cole Harbour that will have nine affordable units. Another 84 affordable units will be available in two buildings purchased by Rooted on Gaston Road in Dartmouth. The province provided $11.1 million for the purchase of the Gaston Road properties, including an $8.9 million low-interest repayable loan and $2.2 million in grants from provincial housing funds. 'Our government is focused on getting more people in housing, faster – and it's working,' said Growth and Development Minister Colton LeBlanc. 'Investments like these are both preserving and increasing affordable housing supply, and that makes life better for Nova Scotians.' The Crosswoods on Circassion Drive is now accepting tenants, with rents for the affordable units ranging from $770 per month for one-bedroom units to $1,136 for three-bedrooms. 'This project demonstrates what's possible when community values, smart, sustainable development, and public-private collaboration come together,' said Nick Russell, CEO of Rooted: Community Development Partners. 'Our goal is to build communities where people feel they have a space to grow and thrive. This ultimately results in greater prosperity for all. The Crosswoods is a milestone in the pathway towards inclusive development, setting a new standard for what affordable housing can look like in Nova Scotia.' The province spent $1.4 million through the Affordable Housing Development Program and $3.1 million under Canada's National Housing Strategy initiatives. The Gaston Road affordable units will range from $770 per month for one-bedroom units to $1,150 per month for three bedrooms. People qualify for affordable housing based on gross household income for both new affordable housing properties. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
BBC News
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Celebrate the summer solstice in East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
A number of events will take place on Saturday for people to attend and celebrate the official start of picnics to entertainment, there are plenty of activities to attend across East Yorkshire and summer solstice is the longest day of the year and will take place at 03.42 BST in the UK this year when the sun is at its highest position in the many it is a spiritual celebration and this year it falls on 21 June. Hull and East Yorkshire solstice events ROOTSTOCKIf you fancy some free entertainment to mark the occasion this event will take place on Saturday from 12:30 to 19:30 at Rooted on St Peter Street in fourth annual summer gathering will include live bands, comedy, creative arts, stalls and homecooked, homegrown will also be a drumming workshop for people to join SWIMThe Flamborough Flippers are inviting swimmers to take a dip in the North who would like to take part in the Saturday social are asked to be in the water at Bridlington's North Beach by 04: Sara Miles said: "This promises to be an atmospheric and unforgettable event. For us, it's not just about the swim - it's about the mental, physical, and social benefits that come from immersing ourselves in cold water and connecting with nature and one another."HOLISTIC EVENTIf you fancy something to recharge for the summer, a guided meditation and movement event is taking place on Monday, 23 June between 10:00 and 13: event at Pearson Park in Hull will be run in three different languages; in English, Polish and event is free however organisers are asking people to donate £5 towards are asked to bring a mat or blanket and can even bring flowers or a poem to share. Lincolnshire solstice events NATURE WALKVisitors to the Sandilands Nature Reserve in Mablethorpe can bring a picnic or pick up something to eat at a nearby kiosk and enjoy the sea air and open free event starts at 17:00 and at 18:30 there will be gentle walk through the nature reserve where people can hear about the long-term plans for the evolving coastal WALKPeople are invited to take part in an eight-mile (13km) evening walk at the former RAF Binbrook base in the Lincolnshire event will take place on Saturday 20: are £12.50 per person and people are asked to bring good footwear and warm AT THE CATHEDRALLincoln Cathedral will host an evening of music on Midsummer Prom begins at 19:00 and will include especially chosen works that include familiar classics and a "spirited finale" to bring the longest day of the year to a "spectacular" close. Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
St. Paul street dance festival will feature local and out-of-state performers
Minnesota's street dance festival, The SOTA Movement, has returned for its third year in St. Paul, showcasing a variety of hip-hop street dance styles and artists. The SOTA Movement, organized by Maia Maiden Productions and MN Krump, is a three-day festival from Friday through Sunday, featuring dance workshops, battles and a performance showcase at Park Square Theater in St. Paul. The performances will include both solo and group acts from artists varying in age and experience, some as young as seven. 'We are trying to bring one of the best experiences back to Minnesota when it comes to the streets, arts and hip hop culture in general,' organizer and krump artist Ololade Gbadamosi-Alashe, aka Gambit, said. The festival will begin at 6:30 p.m. Friday with 'The gathering,' an event that encourages community members and dancers to connect, experience a cypher or freestyle dance workshop, eat, drink and highlight women in hip-hop. At 1 p.m. Saturday, doors open for 'Uprizing,' a series of krump battles where dancers compete head-to-head. Finally, at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, 'Rooted,' The SOTA Movement's showcase, 'exhibits the skills and techniques of the finest choreographers in the Twin Cities and beyond,' according to their website. 'In a time where arts funding is getting cut and people are wondering where we will be, the time to show up is now,' Maia Maiden said. 'The SOTA Movement is ready.' Not only does the SOTA Movement foster community togetherness, Gbadamosi-Alashe said, it also supports local talent. 'It gives people who are in street arts or hip hop a platform to present as artists rather than having regular street sessions or street battles,' Gbadamosi-Alashe said. 'It gives them an opportunity to see themselves as artists, as well as create a portfolio for them to be in the industry.' Free dance workshops led by professional dancers, open to all experience levels and ages, will also take place Friday through Sunday. Tickets were to be reserved online, but Gbadamosi-Alashe said if you weren't able to grab a free ticket, but are interested in joining a workshop, 'the best thing to do is just show up.' People can expect to have a good time, Gbadamosi-Alashe said. Some performances he's looking forward to are those of Rondo Double Dutch, previous krump battle winner, Athena and up-and-coming dancer, Desaré Cox. 'We pride ourselves on leaving everybody with not just a good time, but a full experience,' Gbadamosi-Alashe said. 'We see the audience as part of our community. So come on through, enjoy it and start your summer off well.' Lowertown Sounds kickoff postponed due to impending storms Brian Wilson, Beach Boys visionary leader and summer's poet laureate, dies at 82 Tony Awards laud android rom-com 'Maybe Happy Ending' and history-making 'Purpose' Raihala: Six big rock acts we might not see in concert again Review: Bassoonist Fei Xie shines in Minnesota Orchestra program also featuring Wynton Marsalis pieces What: Minnesota hip-hop and street dance festival. Where: Park Square Theater, 20 W. 7th Pl, St Paul. When: Friday, June 13 – Sunday, June 15. Cost: Free – $25 for general admission and VIP tickets. For more information or to purchase/reserve tickets, visit
