San Francisco accepting applications for transgender income program

The city of San Francisco is accepting applications for its guaranteed income for transgender people program, called GIFT. The city will begin by selecting 55 residents to receive $1,200 per month for 18 months.

“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,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed, D, said in a statement.

To be eligible, San Francisco residents must identify as transgender, gender-nonconforming, nonbinary or intersex. They must be at least 18 years old and earn less than $600 per month. Applicants must submit supporting documents, like a photo ID, W-2 or bank statement, and proof of San Francisco residency.

“Even with our rich history of trans advocacy, we see that trans San Franciscans experience poverty at exponentially higher rates compared to the general population,” Executive Director of the San Francisco Office of Transgender Initiatives Pau Crego said in a statement. “This is especially the case for trans people of color, disabled trans people, trans elders, and other trans communities.”

The application has a section for choosing pronouns with 17 options including he, she, they, per, fae, tey and more. There are also more than 90 options for gender identity. The application asks questions about the person’s race, housing status, whether they have ever been incarcerated, have HIV, are a sex worker, migrant worker or in the military. Applications for the pilot program must be submitted by Dec. 15, 2022.

This is one of multiple guaranteed income programs in San Francisco. The Abundant Birth Project offers guaranteed income to Black and Pacific Islander parents to help improve maternal health and birthing outcomes. There’s also a program to help artists, who the city said were disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.