Long Beach starts cash payments to low-income families in new city program

The city of Long Beach announced Friday that it started its guaranteed income pilot program, where selected low-income families get $500 a month from the city for one year.

The mayor of Long Beach said the program is intended to help families recover and stabilize after dealing with the pandemic's devastating economic effects.

The Long Beach Pledge Guaranteed Income pilot program's application period began in November 2022, with 2,800 people requesting financial assistance. Of those applications, 250 single-headed families with children in the 90813 zip code were selected to receive the monthly cash payments.

"The Long Beach Pledge is providing that financial support to our most vulnerable families. We look forward to distributing these funds, evaluating the positive impacts of this pilot program, and identifying expanded opportunities for guaranteed income programs," said Mayor Rex Richardson.

And to test the effectiveness of the program, the city partnered with California State University, Long Beach Research Foundation to study the pilot and evaluate its impact on single-parent families.

Funding for the program is through federal COVID-19 stimulus funds and the Long Beach Recovery, a plan to fund economic and public health initiatives for Long Beach residents, workers, and businesses critically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Families that were deemed ineligible for the Long Beach Pledge were provided with information about other available resources.