Direct Cash.
Direct Impact.
A Stronger Florida.
The Florida Income Network is working to expand the use of unrestricted cash assistance to ensure economic security for all Floridians.
What We See
Across Florida
Florida families are working hard, but rising costs and stagnant wages are making it harder to get ahead. When support systems come with too many barriers, families fall further behind, and the whole state feels it.
When we remove those barriers, families gain ground, and all of Florida moves forward together.
Rising Costs
Housing, utilities, groceries, and childcare all cost more than they used to. Wages haven't kept up.
Stagnant Wages
Florida's job market has grown, but much of that growth is in lower-paying service and gig work. Many households now need multiple jobs just to cover basics.
Restrictions on Support
Existing assistance programs often come with strict rules and heavy paperwork, barriers that make help hardest to reach for the people who need it most.
Local Spotlight: Alachua County
In Alachua County, we see how these dynamics play out for people impacted by incarceration. Just Income's 2026 applicants reported significant financial hardship: 31% had zero income, and 87% had less than $50 in savings. Most are actively seeking work. People are released from incarceration with limited resources and are immediately expected to meet basic needs, pay court costs and probation fees, find housing in an expensive market, and secure employment despite a criminal record.
Court debt, unstable housing, and limited transportation compound these challenges, making it difficult to meet probation requirements or provide for family.
As one applicant put it: "I hope next year that things will just be normal."
Local Spotlight: Miami-Dade County
Miami-Dade County is one of the least affordable metropolitan areas in the US. Median rents have more than doubled over the last decade, and most households are now cost-burdened, spending over 30% of their income on housing. Long-time residents are being priced out of the neighborhoods they helped build.
Rising costs for food, transportation, childcare, and healthcare compound financial strain, leaving many residents one unexpected expense away from crisis. These pressures are especially acute in neighborhoods like Liberty City, Little Haiti, Little Havana, Overtown, Wynwood, Hialeah, Florida City, and Opa-Locka.
Guaranteed income addresses these conditions directly: unconditional cash support provides immediate relief while acknowledging a broader reality: economic insecurity is often structural rather than a result of individual choices.
Why Cash Works
Unrestricted cash gives people the flexibility to solve their own problems, no red tape, no restrictions on how it's spent.
It's also one of the most studied anti-poverty tools available. [See the evidence.]
Direct cash helps people:
Cover the basics during a temporary setback, before it becomes a lasting crisis
Keep working by repairing a car or covering transportation costs
Clear debt, including court costs and fees that block reentry into the workforce
Stay housed by closing gaps in rent or utility costs
Support their kids with groceries, supplies, and everyday needs
Invest in the future through health care, education, or starting a business
Needs differ by person and by place. A parent in Miami and someone returning home in Gainesville face different challenges, cash lets each of them solve the problem in front of them.
That flexibility is what makes direct cash effective, and why it's gaining support from mayors, researchers, and community leaders across the political spectrum.
Participating Organizations
