How $750 a month helped Bay Area homeless people off the street
Over the course of the year, a hundred homeless people in the Bay Area and Los Angeles received $750 a month, no questions asked, to spend as they pleased.
How did they manage their money?
Newly released results from the “guaranteed income” program that handed out the payments found participants overwhelmingly used the cash to cover everyday necessities — food, housing and transportation. Crucially, the assistance helped some recipients get off the street once they could afford rent or the costs of moving into an apartment.
“It’s what we all need as people, just a little bit of support when times are tough,” said Kevin F. Adler, founder of Miracle Messages, the San Francisco nonprofit in charge of the program.
In recent years, local governments and private organizations across the Bay Area have funded at least 20 other guaranteed income pilot programs to determine whether unconditional payments can help alleviate the region’s staggering wealth disparity.
In Santa Clara County, a program in 2020 gave $1,000 monthly payments to 72 young adults leaving foster care. That same year in Oakland, the city began providing $500 monthly to 300 families and later doubled the program to 600 families. South San Francisco recently started sending $500 in monthly assistance to 150 low-income families. And Alameda and Mountain View have approved similar programs.
Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new guaranteed income program in San Francisco that will give $1,200 a month to 150 young adults who are leaving the foster care system.
Advocates for such programs say giving low-income residents money to use as they see fit — rather than specific vouchers such as food stamps — provides true financial independence, allowing people to afford their most pressing needs, avoid debt and find better jobs.
