Gary's guaranteed income program will be able to continue. The city council Tuesday voted seven-to-one to appropriate $400,000 in COVID-19 relief funding for the nonprofit group that runs the Guaranteed Income Validation Effort (G.I.V.E.).
Last spring, 125 residents were chosen to get $500 a month for a year, but funding ran out in December. G.I.V.E. Executive Director Burgess Peoples says the additional money will let the recipients get paid for the remaining six months and leave money left over to help them with various needs like work uniforms.
"When I say they are literally starting from scratch, they really are starting from scratch. And so we want to use those dollars to help them, so they can have that sustainability on those jobs that they need," Peoples told the council.
But some council members were concerned about giving that much money to one organization that primarily targets 125 residents versus other nonprofits with a bigger footprint.
Linda Barnes-Caldwell voted against the ordinance, noting that many residents with young children already had access to federal pandemic benefits. "COVID didn't affect everybody negatively. They did good. You know, we had some deaths, and I'm sorry for that, but people did real good," she said.
The council also approved plans to spend American Rescue Plan money on $5 million in broadband upgrades and a $1.5 million youth leadership and job training program — but held off on plans for an ARPA manager and internet upgrades for the council chamber.
