‘It’s for real’: Over 100 families in Fresno County to get $500 a month for a year

FRESNO, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – More than 100 families are to receive $500 a month over an entire year in a new initiative to fight poverty.

The Fresno Economic Opportunities Commissions is making an effort to fight poverty, with the launch of the Advancing Fresno County Guaranteed Income.

Out of 10,000 applicants, 150 families were picked to get $500 a month for an entire year.

“It’s for real! this the card, it’s for real!” said a Fresno resident, Patricia Cail.

Patricia Cail and Nancy Ramirez are two of the 150 people selected to receive $500 a month for the next year.

The initiative is funded with over $1 million, donated by several philanthropic groups.

“Our goal is to really demonstrate that they really do utilize these funds to thrive, get a better education, get better job opportunities,” CEO of the Fresno EOC, Emilia Reyes said.

Reyes grew up in the Central Valley and was raised by farmworkers. She says this project is really special.

“It just hits home because I know my parents would have appreciated an additional $500 to make rent or keep the lights on because they struggled,” Reyes said.

As of 2022, estimates for Fresno County show that nearly 21,000 families with children under the age of 5 are living below the poverty line -this program is meant to help those families.

To evaluate the impact the initiative will have on the participants, Fresno State will conduct research, asking both the families who were picked to be in the program, and those who weren’t picked to gain insight into the program’s effects.

“We think long term, based on what we’ve seen from other pilots and their study results is that families will start thinking about new opportunities and start thinking about the future once they realize that they have enough to stabilize each month, they can start planning,” Fresno State’s Center for Community Voices’ Dr. Amber Crowell.

Nancy Ramirez was emotional, just thinking of how the money would affect her and her family.

“I felt extremely blessed to have been selected because I knew from the very get-go, that this would be a tremendous help for me,” she said.

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