Roomies, while it may seem like some parts of the world are open, let’s not forget that we’re still in a pandemic, and many people are struggling. Thousands of people have lost their jobs and are constantly on the job search to be able to find employment to make ends meet. Yesterday Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf made an announcement that is sure to have everyone in the town yelling, “Yee.”
According to @CNN, Mayor Schaaf will follow former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, who launched the “Guaranteed Income” project in 2019. She will be launching a privately funded program in Oakland that will give low-income families of color $500 per month to spend however they please! “The Oakland Resilient Families” program will provide a set amount of funds for Black, Indigenous, and other people of color living in poverty. These funds are meant to alleviate the stresses that often lead to poor health that can hinder individuals from finding full-time employment.
In addition, the program directly targets groups in the city’s greatest wealth disparities. Per the Oakland Equality Index, statistics reveal that African Americans were most likely to be living at or below the federal poverty level at 26.1%. Mayor Schaaf said in a statement, “The poverty we all witness today is not a personal failure. It is a systems failure. Guaranteed income is one of the most promising tools for systems change, racial equity, and economic mobility we’ve seen in decades.”
Now here’s the important part, to eligible for the program, families must have at least one child under 18. Their income must be at or below the area’s median income: which is around $59,000 for a family of three. Currently, half of the available spots will be reserved for very low-income families who earn below 138% of the federal poverty level, which is equivalent to about $30,000 per year for a family of three.
The project rollout is schedule to fully operational by this summer!
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