When Aisha Amos found the postcard on her door about the In Her Hands guaranteed income program, her first instinct wasn't to think about herself. After more than 20 years in Atlanta, the Baltimore native had become accustomed to looking out for others first.

Lagrina has spent her life caring for others. For years, she epitomized the unpaid care economy, balancing her family’s needs while managing a budget that was stretched well past its breaking point. Her life was a testament to resilience, but it was a constant fight for survival. Then, a single text message sparked a flicker of hope. 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spent his final year advocating for a federal program of stable and certain cash payments to alleviate poverty, because he, alongside many Civil Rights leaders, knew civic freedoms would be of little use for Americans still denied basic financial freedom.