Cambridge Will Give $500 A Month To Families Below The Poverty Line

CAMBRIDGE, MA — Cambridge will be dolling out $500 a month to every family below the poverty line, Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui said last week.

Mayor Siddiqui says the city will be using $22 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to give cash to families living in poverty as part of a pilot program.

The $500 cash payment will be available on a monthly basis for about 18 months to every family under 200 percent of the federal poverty line in the city.

This makes Cambridge the first city in the country to expand its cash assistance program, Siddiqui said during last week's State of the City address.

This effort is an expansion of Cambridge RISE, a pilot program launched last year giving guaranteed income for single caretakers - distributing monthly cash payments to 130 families.

While further details of this plan are still being worked out, Mayor Siddiqui says more information will be available in the coming months.