By Esmy Jimenez
Salem is the latest Massachusetts city — joining the likes of Cambridge, Somerville, and Chelsea — to launch a guaranteed basic income programin an effort to help residentsteetering on the edge of poverty.
The pilot program, which the city is calling Uplift Salem, will give $500 a month, no strings attached to 100 residents who live at or below the poverty level. The recipientswill be chosen randomly out of a lottery and will receive their first payments Dec 1.
The need for the pilot is dire, said Mayor Dominick Pangallo,who announced the program this week with the city’s nonprofit partner UpTogether. Pangallo said his office is already fielding calls from locals curious about the application process; demand is likely be higher than what’s available.
“We have a housing stability coordinator in the Mayor’s office that has met with about 550 people who have come through the doors since January to talk with her about opportunities to stay in their housing,” he said.
Pangallo estimates that about 40percent of Salem’s residents are currently housing burdened, meaning they’re spending morethan a third of their income on rent or mortgage.
Salem, a city of about 44,000, has a median household income just below $80,000, according to US Census estimates. Nearly 14 percent of the population isat or below the poverty line,higher than the statewide rate of 10.5 percent.
Here’s how the program will work.Chosen participants must reside in Salem and have a household incomeat or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level. For example, a family of four would need to have an annual income of $31,200. Residents who are chosen will be able to use the funds at their discretion — groceries, utilities, childcare, and the likes.
New England guaranteed basic income programs
UpTogether, a national nonprofit working to fight poverty, is managing the pilot alongside city officials.
“We know guaranteed income works to help families achieve economic mobility. They know what’s best for their families and can be trusted to make decisions that move them ahead,” said UpTogether CEO Jesús Gerena in a statement.
Researchers from Salem State University will be studying the year-long program to learn how the cash payments impacted recipients by also studying a control group of 100 residents who do not receive the payments.
While some critics of GBI worry about how residents may use the funds, academic studies show that recipients often use it to purchase necessities. In studying the Chelsea Eats program, for example, researchers with the Harvard Kennedy School found recipients spent 65 percent of their funds at grocery stores and to purchase food.
To fund the pilot, Salem is using a combined $688,500 from federal COVID-relief funds and a private contribution through UpTogether.
Applications for UpLift Salem will open starting Oct. 28 and are available in English and Spanish. They will remain open for two weeks or until 350 eligible applications have been received.
