A new guaranteed basic income pilot is reportedly gearing up for launch, preparing to hand cash to hundreds of families living below the poverty line.
The program aims to distribute monthly $500 checks for a year to 140 families in Evanston, Illinois, reports the local news outlet Evanston RoundTable.
Applicants must have children 5 years old or younger and incomes at or below 1.84 times the federal poverty line – which is currently $31,200, as per healthcare.gov
The $840,000 program focuses on the tract of 8902, an area whose residents have with rising inequality and lack of affordability for at least several years.
Kristin Meyer, a management analyst for Evanston’s Health and Human Services Department says,
“Economic investment and helping families get the resources they need helps people pay for childcare costs, pay for the rising costs of their homes, and helps them stay in our community. And by investing in our youngest children, we are investing in the future of Evanston and the future adult population of 8092.”
Evanston RoundTable reports that other tracts of the city were skeptical as to why the program excluded them, solely focusing on the 8092 district. Meyer reportedly responded saying that 8092 had a specific history of redlining and other discriminatory policies that put it at a unique disadvantage to other parts of Evanston.
Similar guaranteed basic income pilot programs have been kicking off in nearly every US state, accelerating in the last year.
