$720,000 in Cash Handouts Incoming as US City Rolls Out Guaranteed Income Program

A nonprofit is teaming up with a city in California to give away a total of $720,000 to struggling families with no strings attached.

The social services organization Monument Impact is launching ELEVATE Concord, a guaranteed income program designed to provide financial assistance to 120 families living in the city of Concord, reports CBS News Bay Area.

The program, which will be funded by the city of Concord, will dish out $500 each month for one year to selected families that are having trouble paying for basic expenses such as food, rent and utility bills. The program also aims to give participants a chance to build financial stability.

Says Monument Impact,

“Independent, peer-reviewed academic research demonstrates that families who receive cash support via guaranteed income use it on food, utilities, transportation and other essential needs.

These families also benefit from improved financial, physical and emotional health, with the ability to build up savings, along with a decrease in anxiety and depression.” 

Monument Impact started to distribute the first batch of payments to selected families last month.

The project solicited the services of Dr. Rosa Maria Stenberg, an assistant adjunct professor at the University of California, to help assess the effectiveness of the no-strings-attached guaranteed income program.

Concord joins other initiatives across the country that are also rolling out guaranteed income programs.

A total of $18.745 million will be handed out to people and families with no strings attached in Georgia, Florida, Maryland and San Jose, California.

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