A guaranteed income program will soon start accepting applications from the residents of Cambridge, Mass. Selected recipients will receive a guaranteed monthly stimulus check from Cambridge of $500 for 18 months. Applications for the program, Rise Up Cambridge, will open on June 1, 2023.

Guaranteed Monthly Stimulus Check From Cambridge: Who Will Get It?

The Rise Up Cambridge program aims to help households with at least one child. The program has been funded by a $22 million commitment from Cambridge. This new program is based on the city’s previous initiative, the Cambridge RISE pilot program.

The new program addresses the city’s “growing economic divide and racial inequities.” The program uses direct cash assistance as an “effective anti-poverty strategy” that allows residents to decide how to manage their financial needs and goals.

“Cambridge is utilizing this approach to positively impact some of our most vulnerable families as they strive for economic stability, access to education and opportunity, and improved health in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the program’s website says.

To qualify for the guaranteed monthly stimulus check from Cambridge, an applicant must be at least 18 years old, be a resident of Cambridge and have at least one person below 21 years in the household. The income of the household must be at or below 250% of the federal poverty level.

Applicants must meet the income requirement, which depends on the number of people in the household.

For example, a household with two people must not have an annual income of more than $49,300 a year, while the threshold income for a household of three is $62,150. The income threshold increases with every additional member in the household.

Rise Up Cambridge Program: How To Apply

Selected recipients will receive a guaranteed monthly stimulus check from Cambridge of $500 for 18 months for a total of $9,000. About 2,000 families will be selected under the program. Recipients will be free to spend the money on whatever they want, and they won’t have to report the monthly payments as taxable income.

Residents who meet the eligibility requirements need to apply online. The application portal will open on June 1 and close after July 31. Applicants can use community outreach workers’ help to fill out an application.

After applying, there will be a confirmation text or email that includes a link to view the status of the application. Participants will be approved on a rolling basis, and only one application is allowed per household. It is the only guaranteed income program in the country that doesn’t use the lottery system to select the recipients.

Payments will go out on the first of each month, but if the first of the month falls on a weekend, the payment will go out the Friday before. The first payments will go out on June 30. Applicants’ confirmation notification will include the date of their first payment.

More information on the guaranteed monthly stimulus check from Cambridge can be found on the Rise Up Cambridge website.

This article originally appeared on ValueWalk

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