What is In Her Hands Foundation?
One of the Southeast’s largest guaranteed income programs has changed lives. It’s been about a year since the first Black women in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward began receiving financial assistance through The Gro Fund’s In Her Hands program.
atlanta – Shyamala Woods was planning to abandon Atlanta last spring because of a newborn and rising rent and transportation costs.
“It was enough to pay the rent and living expenses. [There was] “We don’t have enough money for food or gas,” she said.
She says she doesn’t know where she would be if it weren’t for the GRO Fund’s In Her Hands program, which gives eligible women about $20,000 over two years.
“That money went to child care,” she said. Nationally, the family can cover more than $1,200 a month for her.
“In Her Hands” provides Woods and dozens of other women in metro Atlanta and south Georgia about $700 a month.
The average salary increase in 2022 was 3.5%, according to the Conference Board, a business and research organization. In contrast, according to the US Inflation Calculator, the inflation rate in 2022 was 6.5%.
Black women earn less in the labor market and face work-related economic disadvantages, according to a 2021 Goldman Sachs study.
The foundation’s founder, Hope Wollensak, says she created the financial assistance program to help women of color who have exhausted all odds.
“Many people have bought better used cars so they can go to work or school more reliably. They use the money to buy new school uniforms,” she explained.
Sometimes dreams are put on hold due to financial reasons.
“One of my career aspirations is to Become a project manager and restart your business.“However, due to inflation, I am considering working more to offset the expenses,” Woods said.
That means saving money for small businesses isn’t possible right now, but Woods said the program helps her avoid going into debt to cover her family’s necessities.
In early 2022, FOX 5 first reported on “In Her Hands” and how its name comes from a speech by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
After a year, women like Woods have less on their plate and can start dreaming again…
Applications will open for the Vine City and English Avenue cohorts next April. Applicants must identify as female, make up to 200 percent of the federal poverty line, and live within a defined geographic area. To apply for a program or find out more information for a loved one, click here.
