ST. LOUIS – The City of St. Louis officially launched a program late last year that intends to help hundreds of struggling families through a series of monthly $500 payments.

Through its Guaranteed Basic Income pilot program, St. Louis will offer $500 each month to around 540 families in need over the course of 18 months. Eligible families received their first payments in December.

A new report from Business Insider, citing evidence and remarks from St. Louis city treasurer Adam Layne, claims the program to be a success.

Layne told Business Insider that the “main categories where we see spending [are] pretty much where we anticipated.” He says many families are mainly using the funds to pay off utility bills, car payments, rents, mortgages, and other forms of outstanding debt. The payments are also helping more families afford groceries.

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Layne says the city has been sending money in the form or pre-paid debit cards to easier analyze how families are putting it to use. The city reviews reports from the card issuer every month that outline broad spending categories.

As St. Louis rolled out the program, city officials hinted that the initial goal was to help parents or legal guardians in St. Louis who had lost money because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Families receiving the payments also have children enrolled in public schools in the City of St. Louis and making less than 170% of the federal poverty level annually were among those who qualified for payments.

Layne is hopeful the Guaranteed Basic Income program will help more families achieve financial stability.

“I do see it as an opportunity for people who are struggling to make ends meet to get to a place of stability,” Layne told Business Insider. “Then from that place of stability, they can actually make better decisions, and decisions that are going to impact them long-term.”

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It remains to be determined if St. Louis will continue with guaranteed basic income assistance beyond the pilot program, but Layne suggested it could be a possibility.

During an interview with FOX 2’s Ty Hawkins last October (attached above), Layne explained how ARPA funding helped with launching the program and various budgeting resources available to folks receiving assistance.

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