Gen Z, Millennials to Get $1,400 Direct Payments Under New Bill

Michigan Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib has launched a proposal aimed at emancipated minors and those under age 30 that will offer them cash assistance for three years to help overcome homelessness and study housing with a particular focus on youth.

The bill is co-sponsored by Democratic Representatives Cori Bush of Missouri, Sylvia Garcia of Texas, Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia, Barbara Lee of California and Jan Schakowsky of Illinois.

The proposal aims to give $1,400, or rent as determined by market value, to serve the immediate goal of trying to help emancipated minors and adults under 30—also described as Gen Z and millennials—but also use the assistance as a way to study how such help can impact efforts to eradicate homelessness.

"We can't keep repeating the same policy approaches that haven't ended the youth homelessness crisis," Tlaib said in a statement. "By providing direct cash assistance, we can address our housing crisis while respecting the autonomy and dignity of the folks receiving assistance."

A spokesperson from Tlaib's office told Newsweek that the proposed program would be national in scope and added that it was "unclear when the legislation would come to the floor at this time."

In her announcement, Tlaib cited a study from the University of Chicago that found that about 10 percent of adults ages 18 to 25 have experienced homelessness, as have a little more than 3 percent of teens 13 to 17.

The Michigan congresswoman said that while there is some evidence that cash assistance helps reduce homelessness, more research is needed on the issue.

The bill, officially known as the Youth Homelessness Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act, was crafted with the participation of the people it is meant to assist, Tlaib said.

"This bill came directly from young people with lived experience. They helped craft the bill to ensure that it meets the real needs of our unhoused neighbors," Tlaib said in her statement. "In the richest country in the history of the world, it's time to eradicate homelessness. The Youth Homelessness Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act brings us closer to that goal."

Some non-profit groups have endorse the legislation, according to Tlaib's office. Nancy Parker, executive director at the Detroit Justice Center, said in a statement accompanying the announcement that the bill offers an alternative approach to dealing with homelessness.

"The Youth Homelessness Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act is a welcomed first step towards addressing the ongoing issue of homelessness and the manner in which unhoused residents are disproportionately impacted by the criminal system," she said in the statement.

"Our current system fails to address known root causes, and instead, substitutes prisons and jails for actual policies that address the confluence of indigency and egregiously high housing costs in this country. This bill represents a long overdue shift away from the flawed carceral approach towards a more just city."

Update 2/26/24, 1:37 p.m. ET: This story was updated with comment from a Tlaib spokesperson.