Thousands of San Diegans in guaranteed-income pilot program, no strings attached

Suley Lahey fought back tears after watching a screening of the documentary "It’s Basic" at the Guggenheim Theatre downtown.

The mother of two says she can relate to the plight of parents — from a father caring for a child with autism to a mother dealing with the effects of domestic violence — highlighted in the documentary about guaranteed income programs across the country.

"I was also a domestic violence survivor. It caused a domino effect in my life," Lahey said.

Lahey says she lived in a shelter for two years with her two kids after she was evicted. Eventually, she got help through a housing program.

But she says what helped give her a new lease on life was the guaranteed income program in San Diego, which essentially gives people like her money with no strings attached.

“It felt like freedom. It felt like security. It felt like possibilities,” Lahey said.

Local nonprofit Jewish Family Service (JFS) of San Diego is testing four guaranteed income programs that have already impacted 2,800 households. Federal, state and county money helps fund them. Two of those programs give families monthly payments of $500 a month for two years.

Lahey was part of the "Recovery Action Fund for Tomorrow." It gives families that are at risk of being homeless a one-time cash payment of $4,000.

"I didn't have to dig and scrape by to pay for the extras in life,” Lahey said. “Things like Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas presents."

According to a new JFS report, participants used the money on things like food, housing and transportation.  

“Psychologically their stress levels are down, and they have better family cohesion,” Khea Pollard, director of economic mobility and opportunity for JFS, said.

Pollard says the money gives recipients, who are mostly working parents, some breathing room to weather financial emergencies.

"Don't think about this as a handout, but an investment in upstream prevention. Because once they get on the street, we're paying anyway. We're paying a lot more actually," Pollard said.

Similar guaranteed income programs have been implemented in cities across the country.

Former Stockton, California, Mayor Michael Tubbs helped pilot the programs that other cities are using.

“People did not work less. In fact, in Stockton, people were able to work more and go from part-time to full-time," Tubbs said.

Tubbs is hoping the federal government will implement it like they do the child tax credit.

“What we realized is that our finances are so volatile, meaning if you struggle with food insecurity, you also struggle with housing insecurity, and you might also struggle with pamper insecurity," Tubbs said. "That’s something no government official, no bureaucrat, is smart enough to think for everyone, in terms of how they use money."

Lahey's dream of one day owning her own business, selling Puerto Rican desserts, is a step closer to reality.

"It's not a handout. It's a hand-up. It helps me realize there's just something more to strive for,” Lahey said.

Some of the programs just ended. JFS says it'll take some time to tabulate the data and determine the success rate.

One of those is a program focused on preventing families from going into the foster care system. A San Diego County spokesperson noted the program is a new way to help keep San Diego families together and out of foster care.

The statement reads: “The results are preliminary but looking positive for many recipients as the Jewish Family Service report shows. As a pilot program, it is one of few going on nationwide that focus on foster care prevention and we are looking forward to seeing what the data shows and sharing it with the public.”