Supervisors Approve Grant to Support SSF Guaranteed Income Pilot

REDWOOD CITY – Today, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors approved a grant of $100,000 to support the City of South San Francisco’s Guaranteed Income Pilot Program.

The South San Francisco guaranteed income pilot program is designed will provide monthly support of $500 to 160 local households for a period of one year beginning November 2021. This pilot program mirrors similar efforts underway in several California communities with the intent of mitigating or ameliorating the negative consequences associated with persistent poverty.

“Escaping poverty by improving financial circumstances can be complicated by the unaffordability of the basic tools to do so such as childcare, transit, skills training and even the risk to rent or food benefit subsidies should incomes increase even slightly,” said Supervisor Dave Pine. “In similar programs, there is evidence that such additional support can prove pivotal in helping to lift families out of poverty.”

The administration of the pilot program including the application process, intake, monitoring, and data collection will be managed by the YMCA Community Resource Center in South San Francisco, one of San Mateo County’s core service agencies.

In additional to the financial help, program participants take part in case management and are offered financial resources and tools throughout the course of the program. Program administrators will provide quarterly reports on client spending trends, as well as data from pre- and post-program surveys.

“During the pandemic, I’ve had numerous conversations with residents who made life-altering decisions to either pay for their food, their medicine, or their rent. Guaranteed Income will help 160 South San Francisco households alleviate their financial distress and remove barriers to their social and economic mobility,” said Vice Mayor Mark Nagales, the sponsor of the effort in the City of South San Francisco. “I would like to thank Supervisor Pine and the Board of Supervisors for supporting this pilot program, the first in the County.”

The YMCA is partnering with Oakland based non-profit, Community Financial Resources (CFR), to assist program participants in setting up bank accounts and associated debit cards to facilitate the distribution of the guaranteed income payment funds.

Application priority is granted to applicants based on need and risk factors for remaining in poverty according to a four-tiered application system.