Eligible low-income families are now set to receive $5oo monthly thanks to the approval of a pilot program called “Uplift Harris.”
Harris County (Photo: Community Impact)
The Reason Behind the Approval of the Uplift Harris Program
Low-income families who are qualified for the recently approved pilot program called “Uplift Harris” are to receive $500 monthly for two and a half years. Lina Hidalgo, judge of Harris County, stated that there would be “no strings attached” to how the recipients would spend their monthly income, meaning that selected families would have complete freedom of the money they are receiving.
Hidalgo explained why such freedom would be implemented for the selected recipients was that the program “has already been studied at length.” Hidalgo further explained they hope to aid less fortunate families through the Uplift Harris program. Hence the freedom of how the families would spend the money.
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Where Will the Funds Come From?
The Uplift Harris program has a budget of $20.5 million and the funds will come from the American Rescue Plan Act, which is part of the county’s plan to address poverty within the region. Households up to 1,500 that live below the 200% poverty line would be eligible for the program. Families will be selected at random and the program will last for 18 months. which will be handled by an external agency.
Hidalgo stated that the Uplift Harris program will cover the following ZIP codes: Acres Homes, Forest Acres, Galena Park, Gulfton, Settegast, Greater Fifth Ward, Sunnyside, South Park, Eastex/Jensen.
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