Jewish Family Service distributed the last payments in February for a two-year guaranteed income pilot program, “San Diego for Every Child.”
The results reflect the findings of an experiment unfolding in dozens of similar programs across the country that ask the question: What happens if you give low-income people monthly cash, no strings attached?
Gabriela Aguilar said she was watching the news on T.V. with her husband when they announced the program: $500 cash every month for two years, to 150 randomly selected, low-income applicants from four neighborhoods — National City, Paradise Hills, San Ysidro and Encanto.
Her husband figured they’d never be selected, but Aguilar filled out an application anyway, along with 3,500 other people.
They live in one rented room in San Ysidro with their 17-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter, she said.
At the time, her husband was earning about $2,000 each month driving for Uber.
Aguilar didn’t work. She didn’t want to leave her kids alone, and said she was very sick — depressed and having regular panic attacks. She’s asthmatic and diabetic, too, and said her blood sugar levels were elevated from stress.
Their debts — like rent, food, and the car — had piled up.
She said she later started using a food pantry, but didn’t know at the time the service existed.
“There was a time when we didn't have anything to eat, and a sister from church gave us a can of beans, chili beans. We ate that for a week,” she said, voice choked with emotion, remembering her children not having enough.
She and her son would walk long distances, unable to afford bus tickets.
She applied for groceries assistance through CalFresh, an experience she described as humiliating.
Her family was on the brink of homelessness when they were told they’d been selected for the guaranteed income pilot program.
Her husband, newly a green card holder, thought it was a scam.
“He’s like, ‘No, maybe it’s immigration or something!’” she remembered with a laugh.
But the program was real.
They put the money first toward rent, then paid off their debts one by one.
Aguilar used some of the newly freed funds in their monthly budget to start a business delivering retail goods.
It brought in a little extra income, and she did something Aguilar said was a first — she took her son to the store to buy new shoes.
“We couldn’t do that before,” she said. “You got me hand-me-downs and let’s see and pray and hope that it fits you, you know?”
She said within months, her panic attacks went away and her blood sugar stabilized. She started sleeping at night.
Her experience is similar to other participants in the pilot program and dozens like it across the country.
Most recipients spend no-strings cash on food and groceries, basic retail items like backpacks, shoes and haircuts, housing and utilities, and transportation.
Participants report not just their happiness and quality of life improving, but their relationships, too.
Khea Pollard, San Diego for Every Child director, said programs like this are scalable — taxpayers are already spending the money.
“On child welfare, on prison pipeline, all of these systems that are connected to people just experiencing poverty,” she said. “We’re funding those now, and it’s quite expensive.”
Existing safety net systems could be reimagined, too, she said, like distributing CalFresh as flexible cash instead.
Guaranteed income allows families to use the money for whatever they need most, and they don’t have to keep their income low to retain the benefit.
Pollard said it’s a myth that direct payment recipients don’t continue to work.
Most of the families in the pilot program were already working full- or part-time, and, as a result of the program, sought new opportunities — including Aguilar’s family.
Now on track to becoming debt-free, they have money, and hope, to invest in their futures.
Still driving, her husband dreams of starting a business whipping up treats like strawberries with cream, jello and coffee.
Her son now plans to go to college after high school, instead of straight to work.
That got her daughter thinking about college for the first time, too, she said.
And herself.
“I'm like, ‘You know what? Samuel goes to college. I go to college, too.’ He's like, ‘Yeah, mom, we're going to both go to college!’” she cheered.
She said she’s always had a dream, but couldn’t pursue it — until now.
“I want to be the lawyer that does good for people, helps out people, you know?” she said. “I want to do that because when I needed help, there was people to help me, too.”
Pollard’s team is now promoting the results of the pilot program with the hope of creating support for more like it.
