The federal government recently announced an additional $1,400 in monthly aid for minors and individuals under 30. With this new payment, millions of Gen Z and Millennials will get a direct payment in Michigan. The proposal proposes providing three years of cash assistance to emancipated young adults who are currently homeless. The immediate goal of the financial monthly aid is to assess the effectiveness of providing direct financial assistance and non-financial housing support to young people who are homeless.
According to Rashida Tlaib, Michigan Democratic Representative, the state can address our housing crisis while upholding the dignity and autonomy of those receiving assistance if we give them direct financial support. This bill was proposed by young people who have firsthand knowledge of the issues. They contributed to the bill’s drafting to ensure it addressed our homeless neighbors’ actual needs.
Democratic Representatives Cori Bush of Missouri, Sylvia Garcia of Texas, Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia, Barbara Lee of California, and Jan Schakowsky of Illinois have all cosponsored the bill.
Youth Homelessness Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act
The Youth Homelessness Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act is a recently passed bill in the United States that prioritizes community collaboration and was developed with input from the target demographic. The new bill intends to address youth homelessness through a pilot program that will be implemented in a small number of places to gauge its efficacy before possibly being scaled up. President Biden signed the bill into law after it was approved by the Senate and the House.
Over 3.5 million young adults and about 700,000 youths experience homelessness in some capacity, with some groups being far more vulnerable than others. In the United States, approximately 4,200,000 youth and young adults are homeless each year. For example, black young people are 83 percent more likely to be unhoused than others, while LGBTQ+ youth are 120 percent more likely to be homeless.
Cash assistance programs have been shown in recent research to improve housing and employment outcomes, prevent substance abuse, and save costs by lowering reliance on the shelter system. However, research on cash assistance is relatively rare in the United States, and the studies that have been conducted recently to address homelessness have been small-scale, regionally focused, and have not given special attention to youth.
The Youth Homelessness Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act is necessary because it is time to show off the advantages of providing young people who are homeless with direct financial monthly aid. More significantly, people who have taken part in previous cash assistance programs have said that the experience has changed their lives. Providing monthly aid affords people the autonomy to determine how best to handle their particular situation.
As Rashida Tlaib stated, the Youth Homelessness Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act is a critical step toward addressing homelessness and the criminal justice system’s disproportionate impact on unhoused people. It also seeks to transition away from a carceral approach and toward policies that address poverty and high housing prices, thus encouraging a more equitable city.
Eligibility criteria for the monthly aid
The program is intended for emancipated minors and young adults under the age of 30 who are currently homeless, but specific eligibility criteria and program details are still being developed.
Who supports this legislation?
A Way Home America, Detroit Justice Center, Homeless Action Network of Detroit, Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness, MiSide Community Impact Network, Ruth Ellis Center, National Homelessness Law Center, Center for Popular Democracy, Campion Advocacy Fund, Community Solutions, Corporation for Supportive Housing, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Point Source Youth, True Colors United, Youth Collaboratory, Larkin Street Youth Services, Mockingbird Society, and SaySo.