Guaranteed income pilot program in Palm Springs moves forward with additional $500K funding

The Palm Springs City Council approved an additional $500,000 funding boost that will go towards a potential Guaranteed Income Pilot Program serving hundreds of low-income residents.

The funding request passed with a 3-2 vote. Councilmember Dennis Woods and Mayor Lisa Middleton voted no.

"We have a ton of people dying in accident deaths on our streets, and we've only allocated $500,000 to really address that. And here we're addressing $500,000 to a small group of people," Woods said during Thursday's city council meeting.

As we first reported in March, the initial goal of the program was to provide financial support for low-income transgender and non-binary people living in the city. Back in March, the city put up $200,000 toward researching and designing the program.

DAP Health and Queer Works have made numerous changes to the program since then.

The $500,000 funds from the city will be matched by another $500,000 that will come from local philanthropy.

The combined $1,000,000 in local funds would then be pledged as a match to a state grant request for $2,000,000, city documents show.

Up to 180 qualifying residents will be able to receive monthly stipends of $800, which will continue for 18 months.

"Research shows that basic income programs have successfully addressed housing and security. So let's address housing and security for 180 locals," said David Brinkman, CEO of DAP Health

The program will target residents who make between $0 to approximately $16,600 per year. The program will also continue to target trans and non-binary residents but will not be exclusive to those groups.

Participants of the program will also receive additional support services including medical care,
mental healthcare, wellness, and transportation.

The GBP program has not started yet. DAP Health and Queer Works will wait on an answer on the $2 million state grant. According to city documents, if the state grant is not awarded, the $1 million in local money would be used to help fund a smaller program.

Woods said he may have supported the program should the city be guaranteed that it would receive the $500,000 back should the state grant proposal fail.

On Wednesday, the city of Coachella approved a Universal Basic Income program that will provide $400 to up to 140 low-income immigrant families for two years.

Brinkman told the city council that 30 cities have a similar basic income program, including San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, etc.

Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing updates.