Thank you to WBUR for covering the launch of this new pilot! The full transcript and link to audio are below.
It’s often called the “benefits cliff”: making too little money in a job to survive, but enough to no longer qualify for federal or state benefits. Research shows this stressful balancing act tends to keep people in poverty.
This happened to Nyesha Wornum, a mother living in the Boston area. She recently took on more hours at her technical job, going from 20 hours per week to 25. Those extra five hours cost her the subsidies she had been getting for food and child care.
“ I fell into the trap,” Wornum said. “I lost all of my benefits. I’m a mother of twins, and I went from $700 to $0 for grocery assistance just in one month of finding a part-time job. I cried when I lost the benefits because it was that instant.”
Wornum is trying to get out of this cycle by enrolling in a new program called Bridge to Prosperity. The three-year pilot is intended to help women advance in their careers and gradually get off of government benefits.
The program will provide so-called “gap” payments to participants so they can take on extra work, but have money to cover any loss of benefits.
The program also provides coaching on saving and other spending strategies.
More than a dozen women from Boston, Worcester and Springfield are enrolled in the program’s first of three cohorts. The program is organized by a group of nonprofits including Women’s Money Matters in Boston.
Organizers say this pilot is the first experiment in Massachusetts to address the benefits gap.
“ We are encouraging moms to increase their hours, to increase their wages, to take that promotion, to take the job training, and then we can bridge those payments as they lose the benefits,” said Carla Poulos, senior manager of programs and advocacy with Women’s Money Matters.
The new pilot program will provide participants money to make up for the loss of benefits. They’ll also receive a lump sum of $10,000 when they finish the pilot to boost their financial independence.
Wornum says the bridge payments from the pilot will be a lifeline.
“ For me, it makes a difference in terms of my rent payment,” said Wornum. “Being able to actually keep the money that I do have to try to save, try to get myself out of the trap.”
Read or listen to the article here:
https://www.wbur.org/news/2025/02/26/benefits-cliff-money-women-pilot-program-benefits
