Guaranteed Income for Every Child

SAN DIEGO (April 6, 2021) – San Diego for Every Child – a nonprofit coalition housed under Jewish Family Service of San Diego – today announced its work to pilot the region’s first Guaranteed Income Project, “Guaranteed Income for Every Child,” and has received commitments of support from Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and National City Mayor Alejandra Sotelo-Solis. Mayors Gloria and Sotelo-Solis also announced their sign-on to Mayors for Guaranteed Income, a national network of mayors advocating for guaranteed income projects.

Participants in the project receive direct, unconditional monthly cash payments that can be spent on immediate needs such as food for their household, repairing a car to get to work, medicine to treat a loved one or housing expenses. The funds are meant to supplement, rather than replace, the existing social safety net and serve to achieve economic justice and help address the racial and gender inequities that impact the lives of children experiencing poverty.

“I’m so excited to be working with Jewish Family Service on this approach to support San Diego’s kids and families. The only way we will solve a problem as big as childhood poverty is with big, bold thinking, and not being beholden to the way things have always been done. I am proud to be working in Congress to get families across the country the support they need, and to build on that work locally through this innovative project.”

Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, Founding Chair of San Diego for Every Child

Comprised of human service agencies and community leaders dedicated to eliminating the experience of childhood poverty in the county, San Diego for Every Child plans to pilot Guaranteed Income for Every Child later this year, driven by the continued devastation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on children and families experiencing poverty.

“I’m proud to join with mayors from across the country who are supporting guaranteed income, and I’m hopeful a pilot project here in San Diego can help uplift more local families and reduce child poverty. This kind of initiative will keep families financially secure and generate much-needed revenue to help drive our economic recovery.”

San Diego Mayor, Todd Gloria

With an estimated 176,000 workers unemployed due to COVID-19 in the San Diego region, and while all communities in San Diego have been severely impacted by the pandemic and subsequent economic crisis, research has shown that communities of color have been disproportionally impacted. Because of this, San Diego for Every Child’s pilot Guaranteed Income Project will focus on low-income families under the age of 12 and living in zip codes in San Diego and National City most affected economically by the COVID 19 pandemic – often the same areas with the highest rates of children experiencing poverty.

"We've learned the hard lesson this past year that financial security can evaporate in the face of an unpredictable world and an economy that is more unequal than ever. Guaranteed income can provide financial stability to our community here in National City just as it can across the country, ensuring no one falls through the cracks.”

National City Mayor, Alejandra Sotelo-Solis

Jewish Family Service has tracked guaranteed income programs across the country, and Chief Operating Officer Dana Toppel recently authored an article about various solutions underway to help local families in an article in The San Diego Union Tribune: http://bit.ly/BeyondARP.

More information about the program’s launch and participant eligibility will be announced in the coming months. To sign up to receive updates on the program as they become available, or to donate, visit sandiegoforeverychild.org.