Hamilton residents enrolled in Ontario's basic income pilot will receive their final payments Monday as the provincial project winds down close to two years earlier than expected.

The basic income pilot, which included 1,000 participants from the Hamilton-Brantford area, has been providing 4,000 Ontarians in three test sites with an annual guaranteed income of up to $17,000 for individuals and $24,000 a year for couples, less 50 per cent for income earned.

In July, the Progressive Conservative government decided to scrap the pilot just over a year after its launch and following a promise to keep it during the election campaign last spring.

When the province killed the experiment, data collection from pilot participants stopped, too.

But a recent report based on a survey of more than 425 participants revealed they reported less anxiety and depression, a greater ability to put gas in the car or buy bus tickets to go to work, and fewer health problems.

Ahead of the program wrapping up, The Spectator spoke to four people enrolled in the basic income pilot about what the project meant to them and what they'll do now.

Here are their stories:

Basic income recipient Alana Baltzer says whe will go back to living on ODSP payments. She says "I'm used to having a full fridge now ... the thing I think I'm probably going to miss the most is losing that food security" | Gary Yokoyama, The Hamilton Spectator

Alana Baltzer, 30 What did basic income mean for you?

"It meant being able to live like someone who doesn't have to struggle day-to-day for the necessities." Basic income meant Baltzer could have a full fridge and freezer, buy a new winter coat for the first time in her life and purchase a new pair of glasses. "It just meant the little things day-to-day."

How will you support yourself now?

Baltzer said she will go back to living on Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) payments, but she hopes the move is only temporary. There are many things she will have to cut out, including subscriptions to Microsoft Office and Apple Music.

What is your plan going forward?

Baltzer, who has a community service worker diploma, plans to continue working on her resume and go see an employment counsellor to help her find a job that will provide enough money to live on. "Realistically, I'm used to having a full fridge now," she said. "That's the thing I think I'm probably going to miss the most is losing that food security." After her daily living requirements are taken care of, Baltzer said she plans to put the remainder of her money away so she can eventually save up enough to go back to college. She would like to develop her own program to help youth and create her own employment. "Tough times are ahead so got to be creative," she said.

More on basic income:

Here's how the pilot project has changed one Hamilton family's life

Hamilton's basic income advocates aren't giving up yet

McMaster University study will explore the impact of basic income pilot on poverty reduction in Hamilton

Hamilton couple with newborn prepares for wind-down of basic income

Life before, after and, once again, without

Angel Kennedy, 57 What did basic income mean for you?

For Kennedy, basic income has meant not having to seek additional work in the sex trade. When she started receiving basic income payments, she started taking classes through St. Charles Adult and Continuing Education. She also used some of the money she received to get the shingles vaccine. Kennedy purchased additional health insurance as well so she could get new glasses.

How will you support yourself now?

"I'm doing everything and anything to get a job," said Kennedy, noting she has put out several applications. She said the money she receives from ODSP isn't enough to live on. She said she has a promising lead on a job, so she took out a cash advance from a payday loan outlet to take an online course required for it.

What is your plan going forward?

"Just to keep always trying to do the best I can, that's all you can do," she said.

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Recipient James Collura had time while on basic income to learn about video editing, online marketing and advertising, skills he plans to use to be his "own source of stability." | John Rennison, The Hamilton Spectator

James Collura, 28 What did basic income mean for you?

"The freedom and the stability and the ability to choose what I wanted to do — (it) really kind of let me be more myself, more involved with the community, more able to give my time," Collura said, noting he was unable to do those things while he previously worked at a bank. While receiving basic income payments, Collura said he got a new job at Zee Float, a local float therapy studio, and has taken self development and meditation courses. "I've been spending money bettering myself, taking care of myself more, and putting myself in job situations where I have like minds around me so I can really do and be what I'm capable of versus when I was working at the bank, I was an ABM (automated banking machine) ... with hands and eyes," he said.

How will you support yourself now?

While receiving basic income payments, Collura said he had the time to learn about video editing, online marketing and advertising. He said he now has a job lined up to do those things for a local business. "They're giving me a base salary that is very similar to the UBI (Universal Basic Income) I've been receiving," he said. Collura said he has done public relations in the past, but he was able to build on those skills while receiving basic income.

What is your plan going forward?

"I have a job lined up, which is great, and that came from the community that I was involved in because I was on BI (basic income)," he said. Going forward, Collura said he wants to be an entrepreneur. "I want to freelance, I want to create my own job and source of income, I want to be my own source of stability rather than only relying on a job or some outward institution to support me," he said.

The following video on Universal Basic Income was created, edited and posted by recipient James Collura.

James Porth, 41 What did basic income mean for you?

For Porth, enrolling in the basic income pilot project followed a series of hardships he and his family suffered. There had been a lot of missed work and bills associated with his 16-year-old son's multiple hospitalizations, the family lost its car after a collision and on-the-job accidents pretty much forced Porth to retire from his 20-year career in security. "Credit cards all got maxed out to survive. We weren't too sure what was going to happen," he said, noting they had spoken to a credit counsellor about bankruptcy. Then came basic income, which allowed the family to work out options to pay off debt and create a budget to live by. But the pilot project cancellation derailed their plans of summer camps and programs for the kids as well as the emergency fund they hoped to set up.

How will you support yourself now?

Porth's wife continues to work, and they will continue with the plan they arranged with their credit counsellor to help them get back on track. "It's going to be tight," he said. Having received basic income for an additional two years as planned would have made "a huge difference" in the family's life and their budgeting, he said. "It's a major change versus what we thought was going to happen."

What is your plan going forward?

"At this point in time, make it through the school year," he said. Porth said he already used coupons and paid attention to flyers when grocery shopping, but now he is being "very, very frugal" when it comes to food despite having to take into account certain dietary restrictions for his family. "It's a touch and go on a daily basis as to what we're going to do and how we're going to do it," he said. Porth said, because of his injuries, his doctor has said he cannot go back to security work because of the long days on his feet. He is trying to find a new career with the skillset he has, which he called "very limited." "We really can't afford any educational stuff for me right now, so it's kind of tough," he said. The family is taking it one week at a time, Porth said. Any long-term planning went out the window with the cancellation of the basic income pilot program. "We look at it as, we survived without the money, it was great with it, we're just going to have to try and figure out how to survive without it again," he said.

npaddon@thespec.com

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