A new income program focused on lifting families and infants from poverty in Flint, Michigan, will give a monthly stipend to expecting mothers and babies in their first year.

Rx Kids is the first program of its kind in the United States to supply $1,500 for women during pregnancy and an additional $500 every month during their first year.

The program began on Wednesday with no income qualifications necessary to enroll. Pregnant mothers and babies born in 2024 in Flint qualify for the “unconditional cash payments,” according to a press release from the City of Flint. 

The $1,500 one-time stipend is for rent, prenatal care, food, or other necessities. The $500 monthly allowance is for newborn and toddler essentials such as diapers, formula, and day care.

The mission of the pilot program is to increase economic, housing, and food security which can improve mental and physical health in the long term throughout the child’s life. This program is expected to serve 1,200 mothers each year. Rx Kids has raised more than $43 million, which puts them ahead of their $55 million five-year target.

Funding for the program comes from the state government, donations, and partnerships with organizations and university-based initiatives such as Michigan State’s Hurley Children’s Hospital and the Poverty Solutions program at the University of Michigan.

Flint currently faces an economic and mental health crisis. Twenty-eight thousand out of 81,000 Flint residents are in poverty, according to Data USA, amounting to 35% of the city’s population. This is one of the highest rates of child poverty in the country.

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Researchers have also found long-term mental health problems such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder among residents from the public works environmental disaster that caused a water crisis six years ago. 

Rx Kids hopes to spark a nationwide movement and empower families by giving them direct resources to combat the problems that coexist with poverty.