City to consider experimental cash program giving direct payments to Black women

PITTSBURGH — The financial strain families have experienced during the pandemic can be seen throughout the city of Pittsburgh.

The city wants to launch One Pittsburgh’s assured cash experiment program before the end of this year, in an effort to help families who are struggling, while also studying the outcomes of financial stability, food security and employment.

“The main notification for the structure of our pilot was the gender equity report, that the University of Pittsburgh ... found Pittsburgh is one of the worst cities compared to others for Black women,” explained One PGH’s Assured Cash Experiment Program Manager Michele Abbott.

200 participants would receive $500 a month for two years.

“Half of those participants will be targeted to be Black women whose household income is less than the 50% median area income,” Abbott said.

The other half of the participants will be randomly selected from five different underserved neighborhoods, including the Hilltop and Homewood.

“We really want to serve people without making it this huge benefits cliff, like many are experiencing currently,” she explained.

Information on how the money is being spent will be collected throughout the duration of the program.

“We will be able to report out to the public what people were spending money on. Not on an indicable level, but let’s say 50% of our participants spent it on food transportation,” Abbott stated.

The city council is considering allocating 2.5 million in Federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to the program.

They will vote on it next week.

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