Kate Downing Khaled | Founder & CEO
When people are released from prison, about 90 percent of prisons expect them to be able to survive the next few days on “gate money.” Gate money is a cash grant that ranges from $10 to $200, depending on the state. (The other 10% of prisons don’t share any resources at all)
How long could you survive on $200? In most states, you’d fill up a gas tank — and nearly a third of that money could be gone.
If I started detailing all of the evils and injustices of the American prison system, this email would go on forever.
Instead, I’ll focus on a prison abolition initiative that’s got me feeling optimistic. In 2020, the Center for Employment Opportunities in New York started distributing direct cash grants to about 10,500 formerly incarcerated people who did not qualify for pandemic relief checks.
Each grantee received an average of $2750 over three months — and the New York Times reported that advocates describe these direct cash grants as the “most straightforward and revolutionary solution.”
I tend to agree. Think about it — for the most “innovative” online consumer services, we can access what we need in two clicks or less.
Our daily user experience for social and government services should also be as streamlined and efficient as possible in order to get people what they need to thrive.
Even though direct cash grants are gaining popularity, many still consider them to be a fringe idea.
That’s because our government systems have historically relied on bureaucratic systems, in-person appointments during work hours, and stacks of paperwork to access even the most basic services.
Making people jump through hoops is the status quo, but it’s incredibly dehumanizing. If a system’s goal is to help as many people as possible access resources, why are we relying on processes that actively limit the number of people who are able to navigate them?
When we work with clients to re-imagine service delivery, we actively seek out ideas from community members that can help us re-imagine these outdated systems with simpler solutions.
That’s because people who have been on the receiving end of our social services are always ahead of our systems in knowing how they could be simpler, better, and easier to access.
People are smart. It doesn’t require an advanced degree to know what you need to thrive. When we embrace this truth, it can lead to some of our most transformative solutions.
That could look like reducing staff costs in order to free up more grant money. Or setting up multiple decentralized locations for people to seek trauma-informed healthcare instead of sinking money into remodeling a central hub that’s miles away from the people who need it most.
Or making sure that people just released from prison have access to the cash they need to access transportation to job interviews, pay for a security deposit, and purchase nourishing food for a few months, not a few days.
Of course, when the words “transformation” and “innovation” get thrown around, things start getting over-complicated, fast. What is it about those words that make us think that complicated equals better?
If you feel like you might be overcomplicating a solution, try asking yourself:
- Am I overcomplicating the solution?
- How can this be simpler?
- Is my pursuit of innovation jumping over justice?
- Is this what my community is really asking for?
A world where everyone can access the resources they need in two clicks or less isn’t a pipe dream.
It’s a reality that we can co-create if we’re willing to let go of outdated systems and listen to our communities when they tell us what they need.
