Thousands of Cambridge residents dwelling at or beneath the poverty line will begin receiving $500 in month-to-month funds this summer season in an initiative that metropolis officers say will assist households construct monetary safety.
The program, dubbed ‘Rise Up Cambridge,’ is a vow that Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui made throughout a State of the City tackle final 12 months, increasing on a pilot program that supplied $500 in direct money funds to 130 households for 18 months.
“This program is meant to give families the stability they need and the opportunity to succeed, and most of all, give them hope for the future,” Siddiqui mentioned throughout a information convention Tuesday. “We want Cambridge to be a city where all families feel supported, seen and trusted to make the best decisions for their kids.”
City officers are investing $22 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds into the expanded initiative, which is predicted to achieve 2,000 households dwelling at or beneath 250% of the federal poverty line.
The solely different qualification that households should meet to be enrolled is that they’ve at the least one youngster 21 years or youthful.
Families can use the cash, meant to assist them “thrive and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic,” on any family bills, like meals, hire, clothes or utilities, in response to officers.
Guidelines present that the cash can’t be used on something that would threaten their security, for fraud or corruption, and for promotion of any felony actions.
The metropolis received’t mandate households to report how they spend the cash, however every participant can be required to certify they perceive the aim of such funds.
Resident Victor Gutierrez referred to as taking part within the pilot program a “god given,” particularly as he’s a single father of two youngsters who doesn’t obtain youngster assist. The $500 month-to-month funds helped him present web service for his youngsters, whereas half went to meals.
“You’re either in the shelter system and you get all of the assistance from the government, or you’re one of the people that doesn’t need the assistance,” Gutierrez mentioned. “We, the single families, get forgotten.”
Cambridge officers say the town’s program is a first-of-its-kind within the nation, with participation not being primarily based on a lottery system. Applications, which can be obtainable on-line June 1 by July 31, can be permitted on a rolling foundation.
The direct deposit funds can be disbursed on the primary of every month.
U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley highlighted how 12.3% of all residents and seven.4% of all households within the metropolis of 117,000 earn incomes underneath the poverty line. Those who take part in money help applications throughout the nation spend a bulk of the cash on groceries, housing utilities and transportation, she mentioned.
“It is not a moral failing, it is not a character flaw to be poor,” Pressley mentioned. “The failing is that people are poor in the richest nation. There is no deficit of resources. We have proved that during the pandemic … There has been and continues to be a persistent deficit of empathy.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”