In our spotlight on Business Report, Paterson is looking to boost the quality of life for some of its lowest income residents by expanding a guaranteed income pilot program.

It launched three years ago and now has 200 participants who receive $400 a month with no strings attached.

Now, with the backing of a national study touting the proven benefits, Mayor Andre Sayegh says he wants to open the pool of eligible residents even further.

Melissa Rose Cooper reports.

We come to the office every day looking to have a positive impact on people's lives.

But not just the positive impact.

Improve their lives as well.

And I think this is improving people's lives.

Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh applauded the impact the city's guaranteed income pilot program is making on families.

Residents who qualify receive $400 a month for a year after being selected through a lottery system.

We launched this program two years ago and we received over 5000 applications.

Received a generous donation from Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter.

He gave us a half a million dollars.

He said, help people.

So with that half a million dollars, we were able to help 110 randomly selected residents.

And in December, the city used funds from the American Rescue Plan to expand the program to 200 people.

Like Paterson resident Lorraine Hicks, it's.

Going to make things a lot easier.

There are.

I tried to do odd jobs in the part time.

I tried to do extra things just to earn extra income so I can have a good quality of life.

I can relax a little bit.

Data shows the program is also improving the quality of life for other residents.

According to a new study from the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Guaranteed Research.

Participating families are experiencing increased food security, as well as greater financial resiliency.

We know right now in the United States that when people have an unexpected expense, you know, typically in the range of around $400, it can tumble people into poverty really quickly.

So think about sort of the proverbial flat tire that leads to a missed shifts at work that sort of when you're living on the margins like that, can quickly tumble you into into poverty.

Amy Castro, co-founder of UPenn Center for Guaranteed Research, says this country has a long history with the idea of unconditional cash.

It goes all the way back to the birth of our democracy, or Thomas Paine wrote about it.

It was also a topic in Dr. King's last book.

Fast forward to, you know, 1960s, 1970s.

The United States actually experimented with the idea of guaranteed income through a series of negative income tax experiments and Paterson, New Jersey, was one of those sites.

So it was pretty exciting to see the fact that the mayor wanted to sort of revive some of that history and then implement a guaranteed income in response to the pandemic.

Michael Tubbs, who founded Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, knows from his own experience the difference a little extra money can make.

I was born and raised in Stockton, California, the city I was once mayor of, to a single mom who worked incredibly hard in no matter how hard she worked or how many jobs she had, it still wasn't enough.

She always was hustling.

She's always was struggling.

And and there were starting a day off.

I never saw her quit it.

It just felt like something structurally was wrong.

And when I became mayor of Stockton, it was clear that poverty and economic insecurity were the pressing issues driving a lot of problems that manifested in educational attainment issues or crime, etcetera.

Now there are roughly 60 guaranteed income pilot programs across the country.

The goal is to continue its expansion, including here in Paterson.

We've applied for an earmark in this state budget.

We are asking for $5.5 million because we want to help 1000 people.

And we also want this to be a part of the a permanent part of the state budget.

Single person households earning $30,000 or less a year, as well as family households earning up to 88,000 are eligible to apply for the guaranteed income program.

Legislation is also in the works to create pilots in other cities across the state.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Melissa Ross Cooper.