2 participants in Denver's basic-income experiment say it's helped them buy a car, rent an apartment, and turn their lives around

• Dia Broncucia and Justin Searls were trying to get their lives on track after experiencing homelessness.
• Through the Denver Basic Income Project, they received $6,500 up front and $500 monthly for a year.
• These payments helped them rent an apartment, buy a car, and improve their mental health, they said.

Dia Broncucia, 53, and Justin Searls, 45, were looking for a way to turn their lives around.

Broncucia had been diagnosed with breast cancer two years earlier and was undergoing two dozen rounds of chemotherapy and radiation. Searls was struggling with his job while on probation. All the while, the couple of 12 years were living in a shelter for people experiencing homelessness in Denver, unsure of what their next move would be.

It was around late 2022, after a year in the shelter, when the couple decided to do whatever they could to put their lives back together. Their patient advocate alerted them to the Denver Basic Income Project, a social experiment in which over 800 of the city's most vulnerable people would be given small payments each month. After applying, Searls was accepted to start in November, followed by Broncucia the next month.

Both received $6,500 up front at the end of 2022, followed by monthly payments of $500 over the next year, which are set to end within the next month. These payments allowed them to find a studio apartment, purchase a vehicle, improve their mental health, and give them the momentum to strive for a healthy, stable future, they said.

"Starting with nothing and then being able to receive a lump sum of money and then get our payments once a month is why we were able to get on track and stay on track," Broncucia told Insider.

How basic income works

Over the course of a year, the Denver Basic Income Project gives participants cash payments of varying amounts. Many participants, some of whom were living on the streets a few months before enrolling in the program, reported feeling safer, happier, and less anxious with better living arrangements.

The Denver Basic Income Project began in 2021 and was granted a $2 million contribution from the city. Researchers at the University of Denver's Center on Housing and Homelessness Research found most of those who received money from the program were significantly better off six months in.

"Many participants reported that they have used the money to pay off debt, repair their car, secure housing, and enroll in a course," Mark Donovan, the project's founder and executive director, previously told Insider. "These are all paths that could eventually lead participants out of poverty and allow them to be less dependent on social-support programs."

The yearlong experiment divided participants into three groups: one receiving $1,000 monthly, another getting $6,500 up front followed by $500 each month after, and a third receiving $50 each month.

While those receiving larger payments had the largest gains, all groups benefited — after six months, one-third of participants said they lived in their own housing, compared with less than 10% before the experiment, according to the six-month report. For all groups, the likelihood of experiencing homelessness dropped, and it was eradicated in the group receiving $1,000 a month. Additionally, the number of participants sleeping in shelters was halved for all groups, while financial wellness for all groups skyrocketed.

Similar basic-income experiments with comparable findings have been conducted in San Francisco, upstate New York, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, as well as in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Trying to find a solution

For years, Searls and Broncucia lived with Searls' mother, who died a few years ago. The couple struggled to find housing, staying with friends between periods of homelessness. The couple spent nights in an abandoned home, in a shed, on stairwells — anything they could do to keep warm. They tried to stay afloat through various jobs, but they said they couldn't find the security they were striving for.

"We tried our best to maintain our dignity, staying with friends and popping in and out for showers, rec centers just to get cleaned up," Broncucia said.

They relocated to a shelter in the Denver area in the year before receiving their first basic-income payments, though Searls said it was difficult finding employment without having a permanent place to stay. Still, they became sober after 20 years of drug addiction and started working toward getting themselves out of their difficult situation.

With Broncucia in cancer treatment, Searls said he was grateful to have a roof over their heads. But with rumors circulating that the shelter was going to shut down, the couple knew they needed to find another solution.

"We started from ground zero, but we were able to get back on our feet with these payments," said Searls, who was making about $800 a week at a recycling job until he had to leave it this year and is now searching for work.

Feeling like 'millionaires in a way'

Every penny of the payments they've used wisely, Broncucia said. With the monthly payments, the couple rented a studio apartment for $1,300 a month for six months, though they recently had to move in with a family member to save money after the rent increased by $200.

The couple also purchased a car for $3,500, which has allowed Broncucia to more easily get back and forth between doctor appointments. They also spent $1,000 on hygiene products and clothing, as well as some furniture.

"Having the security to have a place to wake up and rest your head allowed us to get ourselves on such a wonderful schedule where we were eating good," Broncucia said, adding that the payments and food stamps allowed them to eat more nutritious food.

"We felt like millionaires in a way," Broncucia said.

A lot of these tasks, such as finding an apartment and securing a car, they handled on their own through word of mouth or Craigslist, though they said Donovan, the project's founder, reached out to them a few times to ask whether he could provide them with resources. The project has sent them information on housing lotteries and employment opportunities, as well as some money-management strategies.

Searls is still looking for a job that works with his probation schedule, which he said would last another six months. Broncucia is still looking to get disability benefits after she was denied Social Security Disability Insurance. They're both staying optimistic as the experiment comes to a close.

"We have some uncertainties, but we're much stronger. We're healthier. Our minds are straight," Broncucia said. "When you have the ability to pay for stuff, to not have to worry about how I am going to get a little gas money, having basic income given to us is a life-changer."

Ideally, the couple said they wanted to each bring in income, find housing through a lottery or Section Eight vouchers, and stay mentally healthy. They're still not sure what will happen once the program stops, and Broncucia said it could be helpful to still receive some payments in the future or continue the program so it didn't feel like falling off a cliff.

Even so, the progress has given them new aspirations and determination to keep progressing, they said. They're hopeful more Denver residents and lower-income Americans at large could benefit from similar initiatives.

"We want to be able to just live simply, we want to put our work in, we want to be able to take care of our health, we want to be able to stay sober, and we're going to do all that with or without the program going forward," Broncucia said.