LA inches closer to launching a basic income program for domestic abuse survivors

Los Angeles is considering another basic income program.

Los Angeles is making strides toward a guaranteed basic income program that would target domestic abuse survivors.

Members of the Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted this week to advance a proposal to provide a monthly basic income to some of the city’s most vulnerable residents.

“Oftentimes, simple solutions are the most effective, and studies have proven that Guaranteed Basic Income works. When we take bold action, we can improve our community’s financial well-being, food security, safety, and so much more,” Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez said in a statement to B-17.

Soto-Martínez, along with Councilmember Curren Price and Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, introduced the proposal following the city’s BIG:LEAP program, which reported positive results for the 3,200 households that received $1,000 a month for 12 months.

Participants in the BIG:LEAP pilot said it helped them find full-time jobs, helped them cover housing costs, increased their food security, and allowed them to enroll their kids in extracurricular activities. It also found that survivors of domestic abuse were more likely to leave their relationships.

Financial abuse is cited as one of the key reasons a survivor stays with their abuser, according to the National Network to End Domestic Violence, which says financial abuse is present in nearly all domestic violence cases.

Tuesday’s vote requires the city’s Community Investment for Families Department to report back to the City Council with “recommendations and program parameters for a $4-5 million guaranteed income program” for people experiencing intimate partner violence and those who are aging out of the foster care system, according to the City Council’s agenda. The Council also instructed CIFD to coordinate with other city officials to ascertain “potential funding sources for the program.”

“We’ve received a lot of calls and a lot of support for the first iteration of Guaranteed Basic Income and, frankly, people expressed a desire to see it expanded. So many of our social services have been defunded that it is time to explore innovative safeguards so that survivors and folks aging out of the foster system can find pathways to succeed,” Harris-Dawson told B-17 in a statement.

If the proposal becomes policy, “LA will lead the state and possibly the nation in targeting survivors of intimate partner violence and transitional age youth coming out of the foster care system,” Harris-Dawson said.

Basic income pilot programs have swept the nation in recent years, often showing successful outcomes for recipients, who have reported feeling healthier, more secure in their housing, and able to pursue better work or a more advanced degree.