The program is called the Guaranteed Income For Transgender People, or “G.I.F.T.” Under the program, San Franciscan adults who identify as transgender, non-binary, gender nonconforming, or intersex can apply to receive 1,200 dollars a month in guaranteed income for a year and a half.
The Transgender District and Lyon-Martin Community Health Services, in partnership with municipal departments in San Francisco, will administer the program.
Eligible residents must have a monthly income of no more than $600, and live in both the city and county of San Francisco. Photo ID and proof of residence and income are required, but there are options for undocumented and unhoused applicants.
The program is based on data from the 2015 U.S. Trans Survey, which estimated that 29 percent of trans adults live in poverty, and are nearly twice as likely to be out of work than their cisgender peers.
This is the first program of its kind to target the income gap for trans residents in San Francisco, but the city has piloted other guaranteed income programs in the past: the Abundant Birth Project which provides assistance to Black and Pacific Islander people who are pregnant and the Guaranteed Income Pilot for Artists.
Applications will remain open through December 15 on GIFT’s website.