Black Prosperity Initiative
About the Initiative
Conscious Homestead and The Root Social Justice Center are proud to announce the Black Prosperity Initiative. This initiative is a Direct Cash Transfer designed to promote economic stability, prevent houselessness, and provide financial assistance during humanitarian crises. Our initiative will provide monthly stipends to 20 marginalized Vermont residents across the state to help cover housing costs.
Conscious Homestead and The Root Social Justice Center were provided $133,600 each ($100,000 for distribution, $33,600 for administrative costs) to create an initiative where these funds would go directly into the hands of marginalized Vermont residents. This initiative is a continuation of a repeated call by Black folks across the nation for wealth redistribution from white folks and a call for reparations from the U.S. government.
The Black Prosperity Initiative will provide 20 marginalized Vermont residents with a total of $10,000 given in monthly increments over the course of a year to be used towards housing costs. All individuals (18+) who live in Vermont can apply to initiative, however those who live at the most intersections of oppression will be prioritized. The goal of this initiative is to not only provide marginalized Vermont residents with financial assistance to ease the burden of rising housing costs in Vermont, but also to aid in the case for reparations and wealth distribution. We aim to collect quantitative and qualitative data over the course of the initiative from participants to support this case. This data will use the Social Determinants of Health as a baseline to prove how quality of life can be improved with the implementation of a universal basic income and reparations.
