(Radio Iowa) – A guaranteed income program in central Iowa marked one year of monthly payments this week. Some of the 110 participants who get 500 dollars each month in the UpLift program spoke at an event, but used only their first names to keep their part in the program confidential. Nicole from Des Moines is using the money to start a nonprofit working with the elderly and her husband to become a lead (like the metal) abatement contractor. “It may seem like something small, but it’s something big because it’s not just for our household. It just goes out into the community. It goes out to our children. Then it’s that generational wealth that is just going to keep on going,” she says.

Skye from Altoona is a single mother of two and says UpLift helped pay for the car that got her to a class that landed her a new job at a hospital. “I got to experience my first graduation ever by getting this certificate. My kids got to see it. My kids got to be there and see mom graduate,” she says. Early data show the largest share of money, 42 percent, is spent on food. The Iowa Legislature passed a bill that was signed into law that prohibits cities and counties from enacting guaranteed income programs.

UpLift organizers say the program with finish out payments as scheduled through next spring thanks to support from private donors.