Jarun Laws, 51, lives out of his car. It’s been his reality for almost a decade — and one he’s hoping to leave behind.
The Denver resident said he endured a challenging breakup and lost his home and most of his belongings in 2012. He became homeless shortly thereafter.
From 2012 until the start of the pandemic, Laws didn’t have stable housing, and he kept up his job as a cook to pay for child support, car bills, and other expenses. He found temporary housing in mid-2020, though that was short-lived.
In 2022, the Denver Basic Income Project gave him a big break in the form of $12,000 over the course of a year for expenses such as rent, groceries, and utilities. During the program, he secured an apartment, lived more comfortably than he had in a decade, and saw his children more frequently.
Still, the program ended last November, and despite working two jobs, he said it was too difficult to maintain his apartment. Laws’ story reveals how the kind of temporary guaranteed basic income programs that many cities and states nationwide have been trying out can get participants back on their feet and improve their mental health but don’t always give participants extended financial success.
Basic income programs including those in Austin and Minneapolis showed that most recipients spend their payments on soaring housing costs. Without these payments, there isn’t too much recipients can do other than take on more jobs or keep looking for cheaper housing.
Karl W. Smith, a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, wrote this week that many guaranteed-income plans are too short and cannot track labor force participation or lifestyle changes over a stretch of five to 10 years.
Denver, at least, is trying again. Last week, the program was extended for another six months.
“This will help me so much, including with the medical issues I have,” Laws told BI. “I will probably take some time off to get some rest and work on my health.”
How Denver’s basic income program works
The DBIP, which began in 2021, was granted $2 million from the city to provide over 800 participants with cash payments to help them get back on their feet. An additional $3 million in funding from the Colorado Trust and an anonymous foundation will give participants another six months of payments — and will allow 39 more residents to participate.
For the first year, the project gave participants either $1,000 monthly, $500 monthly with $6,500 upfront, or $50 each month as a control group.
All groups reported significant improvements in their quality of life, researchers at the University of Denver’s Center for Housing and Homelessness Research found. This included financial wellness and safe housing, though those with larger payments had the largest gains.
Many participants in the program said they felt more stable, safer, and happier after receiving the payments. At the six-month mark, all groups had an over 30% rate of staying in a home or apartment that they rent or own — this was at or below 10% at the enrollment date. The percentage of participants experiencing homelessness greatly fell — and dropped to 0% for those receiving $1,000 a month.
“Many participants reported that they have used the money to pay off debt, repair their car, secure housing, and enroll in a course,” Mark Donovan, the project’s founder and executive director, previously told Business Insider. “These are all paths that could eventually lead participants out of poverty and allow them to be less dependent on social-support programs.”
For the extended project, expected to begin in February after a few-month pause, the first two groups will receive $1,000 a month for six months, while the third group will receive $100 a month.
Basic income can help prevent homelessness
Ever since high school, Laws has been a cook. It’s what he’s always been good at, he said, and it made him feel safe and productive. He never made a lot of money from cooking, but it allowed him to live somewhat comfortably.
In 2012, as a father of two, he lost nearly everything. His father died two years prior, and his breakup took a huge financial and mental toll on him.
“I never recovered fully from the bad breakup, I’m still suffering from parts of it,” Laws said. “I just can’t afford a home, and I still work full-time jobs.”
He had to continue working to support his children and pay off his car, and he said for six years, he lived in the parking lot of a restaurant as he couldn’t afford rent and gas. After child support payments and other expenses, he only received $200 every two weeks between his two jobs, but he kept making sacrifices for his kids’ futures. He used whatever money he had left to get a hotel for himself and his kids on weekends.
“I was alone, and I felt I had no help from anybody,” Laws said. “I felt the world turn its back on me.”
Laws lost his cooking job at the start of the pandemic. He found work at a local Safeway, where he worked for three years, though he suffered a back injury that put him out of work again. He’s since found a job at a hotel and briefly tried driving for Doordash.
Some of his former coworkers found out he was living in his car, and they helped him find a place and pay rent. He saved up some money from his new job and got caught up on bills. Eventually, he needed to find a new place to live, and he couldn’t find a situation that would work for him and his kids. After trying out living with roommates, he went back to living in his car.
For a decade, Laws tried everything he could to keep going and be the best father he could. He sent in applications for financial assistance to various Denver-based organizations, asked everyone he knew about housing and career advancement opportunities, and did everything he could to get people to listen to his story. He couldn’t find any programs for people in his situation, as many were catered to those recovering from drug addiction or with criminal records.
All to no avail — until 2022.
Turning his life around
After years of applications, Laws reached out to the Family Promise of Greater Denver, an organization that helps families experiencing or at risk of homelessness, and he was able to temporarily move into secure housing. His case manager told him about the DBIP, and he sent in an application.
He received $6,500 upfront, followed by monthly payments of $500. It allowed him to get an apartment, get furniture, eat healthier, and spend more time with his kids. He was also able to pick up another job to build up his savings. Throughout the project, he said he felt needed and supported by those around him, which gave him the desire to achieve something with his life.
“When I was homeless before the DBIP even accepted me, I had questioned myself if I was going to be a good father to my children because I was suffering,” Laws said. “When I got accepted, it changed my life. It brought joy to my heart, it brought me and my children together.”
For the year, he felt replenished and motivated, noting that he felt a greater sense of purpose. But the project ended last November, and he still didn’t have the financial security he desired. He said he was grateful the project allowed him to maintain his work without as much stress, making the transition to life after the project a bit smoother.
“The end of the program devastated me. The extra money I was getting each month was helping me pay for my rent, which wasn’t a lot but it did help,” Laws said. “When it ended, it kind of set me back a little bit, and I got evicted in November of last year.”
Laws said shortly after the project ended, he went back to living in his car and became more depressed. He stopped Doordash driving because he said he wasn’t making enough after taxes and other vehicle expenses, a problem many other drivers have shared with BI.
He said he spent Christmas alone in his car, and though he was grateful for the support and encouragement he received during the project, it was tough to navigate life without financial assistance. He said he fears being forced to live in his car for the rest of his life.
He suffered a major stroke in early January, and he had to drive himself to the hospital since there was nobody else to care for him. He spent a few days in the hospital, but he started right back to work afterward. He said he’s been losing hope but keeps fighting daily for his kids.
“As a father, I feel like I have to fight every day to survive and care for my kids, but it’s hard to wake up, go to sleep,” Laws said. “It’s hard to go on at this point.”
As part of the DBIP’s extension, Laws will receive another $1,000 for six months starting in February, which he said will be a “miracle.” The extra money will allow him to get back on his feet, have more stability, and potentially get back into more stable housing.
“You should’ve seen the joy on my face,” Laws said. “I felt so relieved. Some of the pressure came off of me.”
