$2,376,000 in Free Money Up for Grabs As US City Launches Universal Income Pilot Program

A city on the West Coast is preparing to roll out a new guaranteed income pilot program.

The Pomona Household Universal Grants (HUG) Pilot Program is a one-and-a-half-year project giving $2.376 million to selected parents near Los Angeles.

The program will pick a total of 600 applicants that will be separated into two cohorts.

For the first group, the project will select 250 applicants who will receive a monthly $500 payment for 18 months. The second group will be made up of 350 participants who will receive a monthly allowance of $20 for the same number of months.

Signups are open and will remain active until July 8th.

To qualify, an applicant must be a resident of the city at time of application, at least 18 years old and a parent or a legal guardian of a child younger than four years old. On top of the basic eligibility qualifications, the person must meet one of four American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) requirements including living within a qualified census tract, receiving another government benefit as well as having witnessed difficulty during the Covid-19 pandemic and having an income at or below 65% of the area median income, roughly equivalent to $72,150 for a household of two.

All applicants must also agree to be part of a study conducted by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). A bonus payment of $50 will be given to participants for each completed survey.

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