Just Income
We expand access to income for justice-impacted people so they have the economic stability they need to breathe and take their next step.
We run a guaranteed income (GI) program offering unrestricted cash assistance to people returning to our community with a felony record. The program runs annually, with participants receiving $800/month for a year. We conduct rigorous evaluations to demonstrate its impact and showcase the broader potential of GI.
We consult with organizations across the country that are developing or implementing their own GI programs. We also partner with national organizations and coalitions (e.g. Mayors and Counties for a Guaranteed Income, Economic Security Project, Income Movement, Reentry Cash Coalition) to advocate for expanding GI initiatives.
Guaranteed Income
Why We Do It
Mass incarceration is a poverty trap. It strips people and communities of resources, opportunity, and time, then expects them to return home with nothing and somehow succeed. If someone cannot afford court fines or probation fees, they are punished again. People are reincarcerated not because they are dangerous, but because they are too poor to be free. That is not a system built for safety or accountability. It is a system built to recycle people through cages. We are changing that.
Through Just Income, guaranteed income payments give people what policy has denied them: stability, dignity, and the breathing room needed to rebuild a life. When people have financial security, they stay free, families stay together, communities strengthen, and real safety grows.
We do this work because we lived it, and we are building the system we needed.
What is Just Income?
Just Income is our guaranteed income (GI) program. We provide unconditional cash assistance to people returning home from incarceration. Participants receive $800 per month for one year, with no strings attached. We conduct rigorous evaluations to demonstrate GI's impact and potential.
Created and led by people who have experienced incarceration, our guaranteed income program is testing a simple and refreshing solution to poverty and inequality. Our work shows that guaranteed income removes barriers to reentry and supports the inherent potential of our neighbors.
We want to show supporters and skeptics alike that poverty is a failure of systems, not people.
Eligibility
People will be randomly selected from our applicant pool to receive $800 monthly for twelve months. Payments are unconditional, with no strings attached.
To qualify, applicants must be Alachua County residents and meet one of these criteria between December 4, 2024 and December 3, 2025:
Released from a Florida state prison
Released from federal prison
Released from a Florida county jail with a new felony conviction
Began felony probation in Alachua County
Most eligible applicants will receive a letter from us with a PIN. If you don’t, call us at (352) 339-9393.
Proof of Alachua County residency is required.
Questions? Check our FAQs.
The application is currently open through Dec 3, 2025.
"I appreciate what's happened in my life and I want to give back, and I want to share and give hope to other people. This income has moved mountains.”
- Murray Wilson, Just Income Pilot Recipient
Guaranteed income’s role in breaking the cycle of incarceration
In 2022, Community Spring launched Just Income. In partnership with the Center for Guaranteed Income Research at the University of Pennsylvania, over eighteen months, we conducted a randomized controlled trial with people returning home from incarceration in Alachua County.
Participants who received guaranteed income experienced:
31% lower recidivism
Greater financial stability
Increased food security
Improved mental health
No decrease in employment
This groundbreaking study shows that guaranteed income helps people move beyond mere survival and toward a future rooted in dignity, stability, and possibility. As we shift the existing landscape of support and policy, we continue to see improved results.
Check out our award-winning E-learning Platform
Our award-winning digital experience, ReEntry: A Look at the Journey Back to Life, guides users through real scenarios faced after incarceration. Designed by formerly incarcerated people, it shows how an income floor can be the difference between rebuilding a life and being pulled back into a cage.
Consulting & Partnerships
We have built and sustained a guaranteed income program in Florida, one of the toughest environments in the country. We now support communities across the nation as they design and launch guaranteed income programs of their own.
What we offer:
Support rooted in lived experience and proven practice
Guidance from idea through full implementation
A focus on dignity, equity, and real-world practicality
We have shared our expertise with more than 40 communities and partner with national networks, including Mayors and Counties for a Guaranteed Income, Economic Security Project, Income Movement, and the Reentry Cash Coalition.
To explore partnership or consulting, email info@csgnv.org.
Together, we can end the cycle of poverty and mass incarceration.
Mass incarceration is both a cause and effect of poverty. Community Spring is responding by expanding access to income, advocating for policy change, and shifting harmful narratives.