The problem
Childhood poverty is inherited and stubborn
In the richest country in the world, one in six children is born into poverty—more than 575,000 each year. When poverty is assigned at birth, exposure to economic hardship directly impacts how children develop, making them far more likely to remain in poverty as adults. These children face structural disadvantages, including limited access to quality healthcare, nutrition, and educational resources, all of which dramatically limit their opportunities for economic mobility and future prosperity.
Economic class at birth
Poor
Lower middle
Middle
Upper middle
Wealthy
Economic class as adult
Poor
19%
Lower
middle
15%
Middle
11%
Upper
middle
10%
Wealthy
2%
The problem
Childhood poverty is inherited and stubborn
In the richest country in the world, one in six children is born into poverty—more than 575,000 each year. When poverty is assigned at birth, exposure to economic hardship directly impacts how children develop, making them far more likely to remain in poverty as adults. These children face structural disadvantages, including limited access to quality healthcare, nutrition, and educational resources, all of which dramatically limit their opportunities for economic mobility and future prosperity.
Effects of poverty
A multidimensional struggle
The consequences of childhood poverty extend far beyond the immediate material hardships.
When a child experiences poverty from birth, their entire developmental trajectory is affected in profound ways. The chronic stress of scarcity rewires developing brains, with research showing measurable differences in brain structure and function by age three. This toxic stress disrupts attachment, emotional regulation, and cognitive development during critical periods when children should be building foundations for future learning.
Meanwhile, parents struggling to make ends meet often work multiple jobs with unpredictable hours, limiting crucial bonding time and consistent caregiving. The science is clear: poverty doesn't just limit resources—it fundamentally alters how children grow, learn, and develop their potential.
Exclusion
Abuse
Trauma
Despair
Disability
Exclusion
Malnutrition
Anxiety
Illiteracy
Aggression
Neglect
Malnutrition
Mistrust
Addiction
Violence
Inequality
Homelessness
Mistrust
Unemployment
Illness
Depression
Confusion
Stigma
Unemployment
Insecurity
Disease
Fear
Shame
Isolation
Insecurity
Effects of
poverty
Effects of poverty
A multidimensional struggle
The consequences of childhood poverty extend far beyond the immediate material hardships.
When a child experiences poverty from birth, their entire developmental trajectory is affected in profound ways. The chronic stress of scarcity rewires developing brains, with research showing measurable differences in brain structure and function by age three. This toxic stress disrupts attachment, emotional regulation, and cognitive development during critical periods when children should be building foundations for future learning.
Meanwhile, parents struggling to make ends meet often work multiple jobs with unpredictable hours, limiting crucial bonding time and consistent caregiving. The science is clear: poverty doesn't just limit resources—it fundamentally alters how children grow, learn, and develop their potential.
40%
of children in low-income families
develop insecure attachments
Exclusion
Abuse
Trauma
Despair
Disability
Exclusion
Malnutrition
Anxiety
Illiteracy
Aggression
Neglect
Malnutrition
Mistrust
Addiction
Violence
Inequality
Homelessness
Mistrust
Unemployment
Illness
Depression
Confusion
Stigma
Unemployment
Insecurity
Disease
Fear
Shame
Isolation
Insecurity
Effects of
poverty
Effects of poverty
A multidimensional struggle
The consequences of childhood poverty extend far beyond the immediate material hardships.
When a child experiences poverty from birth, their entire developmental trajectory is affected in profound ways. The chronic stress of scarcity rewires developing brains, with research showing measurable differences in brain structure and function by age three. This toxic stress disrupts attachment, emotional regulation, and cognitive development during critical periods when children should be building foundations for future learning.
Meanwhile, parents struggling to make ends meet often work multiple jobs with unpredictable hours, limiting crucial bonding time and consistent caregiving. The science is clear: poverty doesn't just limit resources—it fundamentally alters how children grow, learn, and develop their potential.
Exclusion
Abuse
Trauma
Despair
Disability
Exclusion
Malnutrition
Anxiety
Illiteracy
Aggression
Neglect
Malnutrition
Mistrust
Addiction
Violence
Inequality
Homelessness
Mistrust
Unemployment
Illness
Depression
Confusion
Stigma
Unemployment
Insecurity
Disease
Fear
Shame
Isolation
Insecurity
Effects of
poverty
Our solution
Universal answer to individual needs
When we support a mom with:
Click
Diapers
Stroller
Childcare
Housing
Cash
Diapers
Click
She can provide her baby with:
Diapers
X
X
X
X
Stroller
X
X
X
X
Childcare
X
X
X
X
Housing
X
X
X
X
Our approach is simple yet transformative: unconditional direct-cash payments to expectant and new mothers. Why cash? Because it works.
Cash is the most flexible resource we can offer, allowing moms to address each baby’s unique needs without bureaucratic barriers or restrictions. This matters because every family’s circumstances are unique, but the window for preventing poverty’s damaging effects is universal and brief.
Mothers don't need external guidance on what their babies require—they need resources to act on what they already know. Whether the funds go toward better housing, nutritious food, quality childcare, or education, we trust mothers to make the decisions that best serve their children's development and their family's well-being.
These payments do more than just lift families above the poverty line; they restore dignity and agency to mothers who are experts in their own lives.
Our solution
Universal answer to individual needs
When we support a mom with:
Click
Diapers
Stroller
Childcare
Housing
Cash
Diapers
She can provide her baby with:
Diapers
X
X
X
X
Stroller
X
X
X
X
Childcare
X
X
X
X
Housing
X
X
X
X
Our approach is simple yet transformative: unconditional direct-cash payments to expectant and new mothers. Why cash? Because it works.
Cash is the most flexible resource we can offer, allowing moms to address each baby’s unique needs without bureaucratic barriers or restrictions. This matters because every family’s circumstances are unique, but the window for preventing poverty’s damaging effects is universal and brief.
Mothers don't need external guidance on what their babies require—they need resources to act on what they already know. Whether the funds go toward better housing, nutritious food, quality childcare, or education, we trust mothers to make the decisions that best serve their children's development and their family's well-being.
These payments do more than just lift families above the poverty line; they restore dignity and agency to mothers who are experts in their own lives.
Our solution
Universal answer to individual needs
When we support a mom with:
Click
Diapers
Stroller
Childcare
Housing
Cash
Diapers
Click
She can provide her baby with:
Diapers
X
X
X
X
Stroller
X
X
X
X
Childcare
X
X
X
X
Housing
X
X
X
X
Our approach is simple yet transformative: unconditional direct-cash payments to expectant and new mothers. Why cash? Because it works.
Cash is the most flexible resource we can offer, allowing moms to address each baby’s unique needs without bureaucratic barriers or restrictions. This matters because every family’s circumstances are unique, but the window for preventing poverty’s damaging effects is universal and brief.
Mothers don't need external guidance on what their babies require—they need resources to act on what they already know. Whether the funds go toward better housing, nutritious food, quality childcare, or education, we trust mothers to make the decisions that best serve their children's development and their family's well-being.
These payments do more than just lift families above the poverty line; they restore dignity and agency to mothers who are experts in their own lives.
The impact
Preventing poverty is more effective and efficient than treating the symptoms
Our model is grounded in evidence that early intervention yields high returns for children born into poverty. A large quantity of domestic and international research demonstrates that high-quality support during these critical years not only improves childhood outcomes, but also transforms adult health and wellbeing decades later.
By providing unconditional cash payments from pregnancy through age three, we’re addressing poverty where intervention can have the greatest impact. Cash support enables mothers to improve their family's' circumstances, preventing the toxic stress of poverty from rewiring children’s developing brains.
We’re not just alleviating hardship; we’re investing in prevention. This kind of intervention can yield lifelong benefits like better health, stronger cognitive performance, and the ability to capture greater economic opportunity. Early intervention doesn’t just benefit the individual, it reduces community and societal burdens associated with addressing the long-term outcomes of childhood poverty.
Early cash support
With
Without
Higher graduation rates
Higher dropout rates
Better physical health
Chronic health conditions
Improved mental health
Mental health challenges
Higher lifetime earnings
Lower economic mobility
Lower healthcare costs
Higher healthcare costs
Reduced crime potential
Higher risk of incarcaration
Stronger family stability
Intergenerational poverty
The impact
Preventing poverty is more effective and efficient than treating the symptoms
Our model is grounded in evidence that early intervention yields high returns for children born into poverty. A large quantity of domestic and international research demonstrates that high-quality support during these critical years not only improves childhood outcomes, but also transforms adult health and wellbeing decades later.
By providing unconditional cash payments from pregnancy through age three, we’re addressing poverty where intervention can have the greatest impact. Cash support enables mothers to improve their family's' circumstances, preventing the toxic stress of poverty from rewiring children’s developing brains.
We’re not just alleviating hardship; we’re investing in prevention. This kind of intervention can yield lifelong benefits like better health, stronger cognitive performance, and the ability to capture greater economic opportunity. Early intervention doesn’t just benefit the individual, it reduces community and societal burdens associated with addressing the long-term outcomes of childhood poverty.
The impact
Preventing poverty is more effective and efficient than treating the symptoms
Our model is grounded in evidence that early intervention yields high returns for children born into poverty. A large quantity of domestic and international research demonstrates that high-quality support during these critical years not only improves childhood outcomes, but also transforms adult health and wellbeing decades later.
By providing unconditional cash payments from pregnancy through age three, we’re addressing poverty where intervention can have the greatest impact. Cash support enables mothers to improve their family's' circumstances, preventing the toxic stress of poverty from rewiring children’s developing brains.
We’re not just alleviating hardship; we’re investing in prevention. This kind of intervention can yield lifelong benefits like better health, stronger cognitive performance, and the ability to capture greater economic opportunity. Early intervention doesn’t just benefit the individual, it reduces community and societal burdens associated with addressing the long-term outcomes of childhood poverty.
Bridge
Project
Copyright ©️ 2025, The Bridge Project. All Rights Reserved.
515 Canal Street #1C New York, NY 10013
EIN: 88-1293144
Bridge
Project
Copyright ©️ 2025, The Bridge Project.
All Rights Reserved.
515 Canal Street #1C New York, NY 10013
EIN: 88-1293144
Bridge
Project
Copyright ©️ 2025, The Bridge Project. All Rights Reserved.
515 Canal Street #1C New York, NY 10013
EIN: 88-1293144