| Despite currently having a record employment rate of over 3.3 million, Harris County is seeing rising levels of poverty, something that simply shouldn’t happen in an economy as large and as robust as ours. Uplift Harris, Harris County’s new guaranteed income pilot program, will work to combat this. Guaranteed income programs provide direct cash payments in fixed amounts that recipients can spend as they see fit. Uplift Harris will provide $500 monthly cash payments to eligible families for 18 months, relying on federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan. Recipients will be selected randomly from the 10 most impoverished zip codes throughout the county. Decades of research show that people spend cash benefits wisely, leading to more financial stability as well as improved physical, emotional, and social outcomes. More than 82 cities and counties across the nation and over 10 countries around the world have similar programs with positive results. We have a duty to employ all the tools that we can to reduce poverty. In Harris County, we won’t leave our neighbors behind. |
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