The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved allocating $1,000 per month for two years to 83 Survivors of domestic violence and foster youth between the ages of 16 and 24, as part of the guaranteed basic income pilot program, known as Big:Leap.

A total of $2 million will be distributed, so council members asked the city comptroller to transfer $1 million from accounts associated with Wards 9 and 13 to the Supporting Transitional-Aged Youth and Survivors in Achieving Financial Empowerment (STAY SAFE) program.

Council Member Curren Price of Ward 9 and Council Member Hugo Soto-Martinez of Ward 13, sponsors of the guaranteed basic income pilot program, will each contribute $1 million for victims of domestic violence and youth in foster homes. raising their districts.

This motion focuses on continuing an incredibly successful guaranteed basic income program. For the first time, we are also combining it with free job training with the Hotel Training Academy, which has a near 100% success rate in placing graduates in good-paying union jobs, said Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez.

It was in 2021 when Councilmember Price proposed this pilot, and it was implemented through the Department of Community Investment for Families between January 2022 and March 2023, which helped 3,200 families living in extreme poverty in Los Angeles.

Researchers from the Guaranteed Income Research Center at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Policy and Practice and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health found a positive relationship with reduced domestic violence by providing guaranteed income to those experiencing it.

Among the report's findings, it was found that program beneficiaries showed a significantly greater ability to cover emergency expenses and a notable decrease in food insecurity.

Participants reported that the unrestricted funds helped them invest in their future, whether by paying school tuition or starting small businesses, or buying new clothes and shoes for their children.

Some of the testimonials expressed were:

Price's District 9 includes South Central, Vermont Square, Central-Alameda, Green Meadows, the University of Southern California area, Exposition Park, LA Live, and the Los Angeles Convention Center.

District 13 represented by Councilmember Martinez includes Atwater Village, East Hollywood, Echo Park, Elysian Park, Glassell Park, Historic Filipinotown, Hollywood, Larchmont Village, Little Armenia, Melrose Hill, Rampart Village, Ridgewood-Wilton, Silver Lake, Spaulding Square, St. Andrews Square, Sunset Square, Thai Town, Verdugo Village, Virgil Village, Western-Wilton, Westlake, Wilshire Center, and Windsor Square.

Soto-Martinez also emphasized that STAY SAFE will provide support for youth of transition, some of whom face barriers to stability and employment. STAY SAFE will be administered by the Community Investment for Families Department (CIFD) and will operate through Family Source Centers in partnership with 22 community-based organizations, helping to streamline the application, screening, and enrollment process. The program is expected to serve 83 participants and could increase if additional funding is available.