How would you spend an extra 500 dollars-a-month, if your city rolled out monthly checks for financial assistance?
The city of Sunnyvale is just one city behind Alameda, Emeryville, Oakland, Mountain View, and San Francisco, which have already rolled out financial assistance programs for a selected number of low-income residents.
Cities like San Francisco took the approach of focusing on not only low-income residents but also pregnant African-American and Pacific Islander women, Transgender residents, and local artists affected by COVID-19.
The Sunnyvale City Council members met on Oct. 24th to discuss the logistics of who they would want the program to serve, how long the program should last, and how much money would be dispersed to their residents. The council plans to finalize details by the first half of next year.
The checks, from the City of Sunnyvale, will be dispersed through a third-party organization. Sunnyvale Community Services is working with the city as they already provide food, housing, and financial support to qualified city residents.
The city is investigating revenue streams to fund the program. The city also wants to tap into philanthropic groups, local businesses partners, or state and county grants.
