Thread by @Chronic_Channel

#LetsTryUBI

I recently read a report on the Southern Ontario #UniversalBasicIncome pilot.
Here's a thread with stories from participants.

“I slept like a baby, I was smiling and happy for once. I didn’t look like I was about to cry because I’m broke.” labourstudies.mcmaster.ca/documents/sout…

“When I got basic income, the stress was gone, and it was just easier. ... Knowing I had a purpose, and being able to make a plan, because the extra financial resources allowed me to do that, does something profound to your mental health.”

“took some stress off because before I felt like I was living and working for two people, if not three.” During those times, “everything is so intense and harder, just being on basic income was like a sense of comfort you know what I mean.”

“a deep feeling of inadequacy and self-hatred” causing him to attempt to take his own life on three separate occasions.
“So, in a way, you could say basic income saved my life. I could very well have seen myself doing myself in.”

“I would not turn on the heat until December. I would be in my place with winter clothes on, sitting there in November and shivering because I’m trying to hold off as much as I can for the heating bills.”

“had this feeling of being cared for, this feeling of gratitude, this feeling of release.” Even after the pilot was cancelled, . “I went from being a victim, to somebody in control of my destiny.”

The new apartment was also more “beneficial” because it gave her more sunlight.
“I have a balcony so I can sit outside. It’s downtown here so I was in the central area close to a dog park for my dog. Close to parks for when my kids come over. .... beautiful, I love it."

Many interview participants were grateful for the ability to become debt free and financially independent.
“I was paying it off before but only the minimum payments. I needed to use my credit card though to live. I wasn’t making enough to pay for everything.”

“Usually when my granddaughter visits, I would have to ask my daughter to send money or certain kinds of foods so we could prepare a meal together because I couldn’t afford to do that. I didn’t have to ask my daughter that on basic income. I could take care of it myself."

“My motivation for higher paying work stems from a motivation to escape work of the sort I was forced to engage in. I have attempted to end my own life on three occasions in the five years , and consider the completion of my university education to be a means of avoiding danger ”

“I don’t expect to be a rock star or to make a million dollars, but to be able to work and create product, with the basic income I felt like I had a much better opportunity to pursue that”

“less stressful because we had some income coming in from the pilot, and from our work, and I could focus on my studies and not worry about how to pay the rent. I felt less stress at work too because found a job where I was accommodated and where I did meaningful work.”

"I didn’t catch a cold or anything when I was on basic income. I was getting sick more often before, but I had to weather the storm you know and search for work or do whatever I needed to do. On basic income, you could rest for a day and not stress out about missing work”

“Physically I can’t move. I’ve got nurses coming in every day to take care of my wounds and stuff. They cut a big hole in my stomach and left it open. ... If I hadn’t gotten the basic income, I would have been out of there [her apartment] within a couple of months.”

“I became hopeful again.I had some financial stability to be able to look after myself a bit more. My sense of being has changed. I finally accessed resources that allowed me to improve myself. I was able to afford proper medication and health supplements.”

“There were days when I couldn’t go in, but with the basic income, there was a steady amount of money coming to us which really helped. It was great, it almost doubled our income.”

“I was so stressed out and I wasn’t even at work, just thinking about it, and my next shift, it would really get to me. The managers would yell at me for stuff I didn’t know I was supposed to do, because I was never told or trained to do, or for stuff someone else failed to do.”

“These days I would be lucky if I could sleep for the entire night easily. I always seem to have one or two hours where I just get up and either pace around or just sit there in bed with my thoughts. So more anxiety riddled than when I was on basic income.”

“It made such a huge difference for me. And I didn’t view it as just a hand- out. I still worked hard. I still did everything I normally did. I had the flu in December, so I was off work sick, and I wasn’t stressing about how am I going to pay my bills the next month”

A 37-year-old female who had been receiving OW before, said that when she received basic income “the stress was gone, and it was just easier. Knowing I had a purpose, and being able to make a plan, because the extra financial resources allowed me to do that"

“Before there were like fights and stuff with my girlfriend, because I’d want to go and work and make money. So I took care of that for a while. People hold their stress physically. It’s very psychosomatic.”

“I am much more peaceful now. The people who know me really well have seen a huge difference. The stress was so acute from living in poverty, from having an education but still struggling. It really impacted my self-confidence. The difference is absolutely massive.”

“It was very much dignifying. I was trusted for once, it felt like I could make my own decisions without having a devil and an angel on my shoulders telling me what to do. Because I know where I am going.”

Moving has “improved my mobility, my self-esteem,” she said. “I’m not worried about who is going to shovel the snow or do the grass. I’m not worried about getting upstairs or downstairs. It eased the burden.”

Living in an apartment with “a horrible reputation” that she had been planning to leave. “All the rumours about it are true. Fires, drugs, people jumping off balconies”. When basic income was cancelled she could no longer afford to move away, feeling “stuck.”

“My credit score now has gone up. Basic income helped make it better. On ODSP I went bankrupt. On BI, I got out of my bankruptcy. On BI, my credit score is up to 660 now. It was poor before. It was 550 and now it’s over 600 after basic income.”

“I paid off my credit debt on basic income. I was paying it off before but only the minimum payments, so interest was adding up. I needed to use my credit card though to live. I wasn’t making enough to pay for everything.”

An older woman told us how she was able to afford a small trip with her granddaughter. The ability to “go away on a trip with her and do something for her and me at the same time.” Basic income allowed her to be “generous with my family and still you know take care of myself.”

“Had the pilot not been cancelled, I definitely would have gone back to school. I couldn’t afford to work in order to pay for all my bills and go to school at the same time. It’s impossible.”

“It’s better because I am making money, I’m slowly but surely getting off the system. ... Being on welfare is hugely stigmatized. Basic income gave me so much dignity and so much freedom to share my story. I no longer have to feel the shame of having history of being on welfare.”

One 49-year-old man, who was laid off from his retail job just before basic income, explained how the pilot allowed him to stay in Brantford in the apartment he was living in, which was closer to the job opportunities that were suited to his skillset.

“It was a lot harder for me to find work after my husband passed. I applied for any job that I thought I could do.” Basic income afforded her the opportunity to look for jobs that were of interest to her, and to get to and from interviews.

“It’s more than just getting the degree. It’s the journey. ... I feel like I’m free to express myself through the assignments I’m given. It’s rewarding and it’s what I need to do. School has been really good for my self-esteem.”

“I was so happy with myself. I reflected a lot on what I had done. I couldn’t believe I was up there getting a picture with the whole class with a certificate in my hand. That was a lot of fun and the people were very nice. I made a lot of new friends.”

“I love my work to death. You got to really understand mental health. It takes one second and you’ll never see a member again. Suicidal thoughts are so bad. I understand suicide,” he said when asked why he continued with his mental health job despite receiving basic income.

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