Harris County Guaranteed Income Pilot Program applications set to release on Friday

The over 1,900 eligible households that are selected will receive $500 a month for 18 months.

Harris County Commissioners Court Harris County Commissioners Court, August 29, 2023
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Houston Public Media
PATRICIA ORTIZ
POSTED ON JANUARY 10, 2024, 4:52 PM 
(LAST UPDATED: JANUARY 10, 2024, 5:24 PM)

Applications for a guaranteed income pilot program in Harris County will open on Friday.

The application was originally scheduled to launch Monday morning but was rescheduled because county commissioners held a discussion about eligibility for the program on Tuesday.

The Uplift Harris Guaranteed Income Program will support families from certain zip codes living 200% below the federal poverty line. According to Harris County Public Health, this means families of four with a yearly income of $60,000.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said at commissioner's court this week that the application launch was delayed because of questions about whether undocumented residents can apply.

"Unfortunately, we won't be able to, because this program is with federal funds, we won't be able to offer this program to the undocumented population," she said.

During commissioners court, Harris County Public Health also clarified that employment is not required to apply to the program.

The over 1,900 eligible households that are selected will receive $500 a month for 18 months. Barbie Robinson is the Executive Director for Harris County Public Health and said during commissioners court that this program will help low-income residents reach self-sufficiency.

"Whether they're helping to offset a housing cost or utility bills, or an unexpected emergency expense, these types of funds have helped individuals climb out of deep poverty to improve self-sufficiency and well-being," Robinson said.

Families will be randomly selected through a lottery process, Robinson said, and applications will be open until February 2. The pilot program could be extended in the future if funds are identified.

"I do commit to do, in the spirit of supporting the economic growth of our region, to explore ways in which we can identify other funds, perhaps private funds to where we can have a similar initiative," Judge Lina Hidalgo said. "Now, this would take a long time. It's not something that we'll have a program for the undocumented population anytime soon. But, you know, I certainly if there had been a way, I would have been happy to try to make that possible."