This week, San Francisco launched a guaranteed income program for transgender residents to receive payments each month for up to 18 months.
Mayor London Breed announced Wednesday that the Guaranteed Income for Trans People (GIFT) Program will provide transgender people with $1,200/month for a year and a half.
"We know that our trans communities experience much higher rates of poverty and discrimination, so this program will target support to lift individuals in this community up,” Breed said in a statement. “We will keep building on programs like this to provide those in the greatest need with the financial resources and services to help them thrive.”
According to the GIFT website, the City will prioritize transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people of color who are homeless, or living with a disability or chronic illness, or an illegal alien, and apply for the program.
Applicants must also be at least 18 years of age, not be receiving more than $600 per month in income, reside in the City and County of San Francisco and be willing and able to complete a survey every three months.
"GIFT is one of several programs the City is developing, implementing, and evaluating to identify how to best support San Francisco residents and promote economic stability and recovery,” the City of San Francisco said in a statement.
The program will also provide the transgender guaranteed income recipients with “wrap-around” direct services, such as transgender medical and mental health care, case management and financial coaching, according to ABC 7.
Pau Crego with the San Francisco Office of Transgender Initiatives told ABC 7 that in 2015, 33 percent of California’s transgender residents were living in poverty.
In June, Breed announced that the City would spend $6.5 million to end homelessness for transgender people. According to Breed’s office, this demographic of residents was 18 times more likely to experience homeless compared to the general population.
Shortly after, Townhall covered how San Francisco began to recognize “Transgender History Month, prompting other cities in the Golden State to do the same.
In March, the Palm Springs City Council approved a proposal to give universal basic income to transgender and nonbinary residents. The proposed policy would allow these residents to receive up to $900 per month with no strings attached, which Townhall also covered.
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