Shreveport Zip Codes Included in Guaranteed Income Program
Shreveport could soon kick off a Guaranteed Income Pilot Program to help a select group of low income residents.
Mayor Adrian Perkins is asking the Shreveport City Council to approve a resolution to move forward with the program.
Families selected for this program will get serve at least $600 dollars per month for a year. The money to fund this program will come from the Mayors for Guaranteed Income coalition (MGI) the Shreveport Financial Empowerment Center (SFEC) and United Way of Northwest Louisiana.
Data provided to the Council shows about 46% of American households have experienced serious financial trouble, including running out of savings, trouble affording food, paying utility bills, and paying their rent or mortgage.
The Mayor’s report to the Council says:
A guaranteed income would empower recipients to address their most urgent day to day needs and provide a cushion for unpredictable expenses.
Previous and ongoing experiments of guaranteed income programs have included some of the following results for participants: better educational outcomes, substantive improvements in physical and mental health, significant reduction of predatory debt, and greater confidence in having basic necessities met, with no appreciable impacts on the labor market.
More than 100 families would be able to participate in this program and get $600 dollars a month for a year.
Here’s the criteria to participate:
(1) participants must be single parents with school aged children
(2) all incomes of those selected shall be 120% below the federal poverty level
(3) participants will be selected from the poorest zip codes within the city limits of Shreveport which include 71103, 71109, 71108 and 71129.
If the Council approves the resolution, Shreveport will receive funds in the amount of $500,000 from the Mayors for Guaranteed Income Coalition (MGI), and matching funds in the amount of $450,000 will be obtained from other public, philanthropic, and private sources for a total of $950,000 in funding for this program.