Guaranteed income pilot program in Palm Springs aims to help marginalized people

Two local organizations, DAP Health and Queer Works, are looking to launch a Guaranteed Income Pilot Program (also known as Universal Basic Income Pilot Program), which would give a monthly stipend of $800 to 180 low-income residents for 18 months.

"The idea is that we can prove that universal basic income is something that helps Americans and helps to work towards ending the poverty situation," said Queer Works CEO Jacob Rostovsky. "We're not doing enough innovative-- or innovation of techniques to help end the homeless situation to help individuals who are in poverty climb up a little bit higher than they are now. "

Rostovsky said about 17% of Palm springs residents are below the poverty line.

"$800 a month can pay for childcare so that someone can go and get a full-time job, it can pay for their meals for a month, it can pay for transportation to a job interview," said Rostovsky.

On Thursday, the Palm Springs City Council approved an additional $500,000 funding boost that will go towards a potential Guaranteed Income Pilot Program.

The $500,000 funds from the city will be matched by another $500,000 that DAP Health gave to the pilot. 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.

Currently, the organizations are waiting to see if they get state funding for the program. With state funding, 180 residents would get a monthly stipend. Without funding, only 60 residents would receive assistance.

In a similar guaranteed income program in Stockton, unemployment in recipients dropped to 8% in February 2020 compared to 12% in February 2019.

"We can show that by just giving someone something that they need, we can in turn make the world a better place," said Rostovsky.

Who is eligible to apply:

• Client of Queer Works or DAP Health
• Have a yearly income of $17,000 or less
• Live, work, or spend most of your time in Palm Springs

Organizers of the pilot program say their goal is to make applications for the program available by spring 2023.

The funding request at Thursday's Palm Springs City Council meeting 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.

"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

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

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.