A COVID-19 relief program that will provide $1,000 monthly payments to thousands of families in one of Los Angeles' most poverty-stricken districts was approved by the city's council on Tuesday.
More than 3,000 families will receive assistance from BIG:LEAP, or Basic Income Guaranteed: Los Angeles Economic Assistance Pilot.
Mayor Eric Garcetti called it 'the largest guaranteed basic income program anywhere in the United States of America.'
Families below the poverty line in Council District can begin to submit their applications on Friday, October 29, and have until November 7 to do so.
Those chosen in the lottery will receive the payments all throughout 2022.
To be eligible, they must be 18 years or older, have at least one dependent child/are pregnant, live in low-income households, and have experienced economic or medical hardship due to COVID-19 are eligible.
BIG:LEAP, or Basic Income Guaranteed: Los Angeles Economic Assistance Pilot, will be the largest guaranteed income program in the US. Pictured is Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti holding a sign after the pilot was approved by city council
More than 3,000 families will receive assistance from BIG:LEAP, or Basic Income Guaranteed: Los Angeles Economic Assistance Pilot
'The idea of a pilot program is one my office has been following for some time, and it gained momentum as we witnessed our country examine the racial disparities and social injustices during the COVID pandemic,' Curren Price, Council District's Councilman, said before the council's approval on Tuesday
'These will be unconditional, regular, and direct cash payments to individual participants that supplement existing welfare programs. This means there are no restrictions on how the money can be spent and no requirements for the participants,' the programs' website read.
'Whether that means paying for rent, a new tire, or an unexpected trip to urgent care. These participants are granted the freedom to meet their most pressing needs without delay.'
The district's councilman, Curren Price, said he hoped programs of the sort replicated at the state and federal level.
'The idea of a pilot program is one my office has been following for some time, and it gained momentum as we witnessed our country examine the racial disparities and social injustices during the COVID pandemic,' Price said before the council's approval on Tuesday.
Families below the poverty line in Council District can begin to submit their applications on Friday, October 29, and have until November 7 to do so
Homeless encampments at the intersection of Vermont Ave and 4th St. in Los Angeles
In Los Angeles, two out of ten residents are affected by poverty, and one-third of working adults can't support their families with their full-time job
Guaranteed income pilots have become increasingly popular as state governments struggle to address the needs of their residents
His office will be a command center for the 10-day online application days, FOX reported.
Other resources like Wi-Fi, computers and language support will also be available.
In Los Angeles, two out of ten residents are affected by poverty, and one-third of working adults can't support their families with their full-time job.
Guaranteed income pilots have become increasingly popular as state governments struggle to address the needs of their residents.
The effects of the pandemic have been felt largely across the country, especially amongst families who were already struggling to make ends meet before the outbreak.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf announces a privately funded program that will give low-income families of color $500 per month with no rules on how they can spend it
The program has spurred criticism for explicitly excluding white residents from applying. In this 2019 file photo, a woman walks through a homeless encampment at Union Point Park in Oakland
