GBH: Chelsea To Begin Direct Assistance Stipend Program For Families In Need
Next month, the city of Chelsea, Mass., will start giving 2,000 low-income families a monthly stipend ranging from $200 to $400 — with no strings attached — in an effort to alleviate the financial stresses of the coronavirus economic downturn. The program is a version of the concept of Universal Basic Income. Those behind the push hope to measure the impact that such direct-cash benefits might have on participants’ lives. To discuss, Jim Braude was joined by Boston Globe columnist Shirley Leung and by Jill Shah of the Shah Family Foundation, which has donated money to the Chelsea pilot program.