New program will gift 55 San Francisco transgender residents $1,200 stipend for 18 months

A new program being launched in San Francisco will give 55 area residents who identify as transgender a living stipend for 18 months with the aim of lifting them out of poverty, which has worsened due to inflation and economic hardship.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the trans community has been hit especially hard, according to The Transgender District, the organization that will sponsor the stipend grants.

“We know that our trans communities experience much higher rates of poverty and discrimination, so this program will target support to lift individuals in this community up,” said San Francisco Mayor London Breed. 

In order to qualify for the grant, called the Guaranteed Income For Transgender People (G.I.F.T.), applicants must be over 18 years old, identify as transgender, nonbinary, gender nonconforming, or intersex, must live in San Francisco, and make less than $600 a month.

The stipend would grant recipients $1,200 a month for 18 months from January 2023 to June 2024. 

“Guaranteed Income for Transgender People (G.I.F.T.) will provide economically marginalized transgender people with unrestricted, monthly guaranteed income as a way to combat poverty our most impacted community members face,” says the organization website. 

In addition to the $1,200 monthly stipend, the program will provide recipients with medical and mental health care provided by gender-reaffirming healthcare providers, case management, and financial counseling. Applicants can fill out the application form at the G.I.F.T. website until December 15, 2022.