photo by: Contributed

"It's Basic" is an award-winning documentary exploring income initiatives that fund basic needs for families.

Douglas County and other community agencies will present a screening of an award-winning documentary that looks at income initiatives that fund basic needs for families.

The documentary, “It’s Basic,” looks at pilot programs that test the effects of giving people an extra $500 to $1,000 in monthly funds with no strings attached. There will be two screening events in the county:

* Tuesday, Jan. 28 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Lawrence Public Library auditorium, 707 Vermont St., Lawrence.

* Wednesday, Feb. 12 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Eudora High School auditorium, 2203 Church St., Eudora.

According to a press release from the county, former presidential candidate Andrew Yang first proposed the idea to give every American $1,000 in monthly income to bring Guaranteed Basic Income, or GBI, to national attention. By then, several cities across the country had started using GBI pilot programs to provide $500 to $1,000 per month to a select group of people for one year.

“Most of us remember a time when we were teetering on the edge of financial hardship or disaster,” said Kathy Smith, Vice President of Douglas County Initiatives, United Way Kaw Valley, in a press release. “Many of our fellow Douglas Countians know that feeling right now.

“We know from our data partnership with United for ALICE that 40% of people in Douglas County are either struggling in poverty or just above it,” Smith said in a press release. “At United Way of Kaw Valley, we have a responsibility to the community to explore solutions, especially those that preserve dignity and potentially create longer term stability. These documentary screenings and panel conversations are an open invitation to our community to explore together.”

The film looks at many of these pilot programs and presents the benefits, criticisms and outcomes of giving unconditional money to people in need and examines whether GBI programs eradicate child poverty and level the racial playing field through community-centric solutions.

This idea has been debated throughout history. Featuring commentary from Michael Tubbs, founder of Mayors for Guaranteed Income, as well as interviews with program recipients and mayors from across the nation, the film focuses on the real-life struggles of managing day-to-day life.

After the screenings, there will be a panel of local leaders who will discuss insights from the film, address the impact of poverty on families in Douglas County, and explore local initiatives aimed at establishing a guaranteed income program. The events are organized by the Douglas County Community Health Plan’s Anti-Poverty work group, which includes Douglas County, United Way of Kaw Valley, Eudora Schools Foundation, LiveWell Douglas County and Engage Douglas County.

LiveWell Douglas County Executive Director Ginny Barnard said in a press release it has been exciting to work with our community partners and take a deeper look at local data.

As the Journal-World reported, health and county officials involved in the Community Health Improvement Plan, or CHIP, received a $10,000 grant from Results for America’s Solutions, an organization dedicated to helping government leaders use data to build more equitable governments and to reduce poverty. This grant helped fund a number of “data walks,” which walks county residents through local poverty data, and explored the potential for a guaranteed income pilot program in Douglas County.

The screenings of “It’s Basic” are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided, and free child care will be available at the event in Eudora.