Santa Ana Stimulus Program To Distribute $300 Prepaid Debit Cards To Its Most Impoverished Renters
SANTA ANA (CBSLA) — Santa Ana is launching a $6 million stimulus program aimed at giving a helping hand to their most impoverished residents.
The Revive Santa Ana Resident Stimulus Program will distribute $6 million in prepaid Visa debit cards to 20,000 homes after the City Council unanimously approved the program at its Tuesday night meeting and increased the total amount so more households could be included.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on the residents in Santa Ana, especially those who live in high-poverty neighborhoods with overcrowded living conditions," Mayor Vicente Sarmiento said in a statement. "The Resident Stimulus Program will help families recover from the economic effects of the pandemic while also putting money back into our local economy."
City officials say the $300 prepaid debit cards will be distributed door-to-door to about 20,000 rental units in Santa Ana's most impoverished neighborhoods in the coming weeks. The neighborhoods that are eligible were identified with census data as residents who earn less than Santa Ana's median poverty rate of 42%.
If a city employee is not able to contact a head of household at one of the addresses, they will be contacted to arrange for delivery at a later date, according to officials.
The program is part of the $160 million Revive Santa Ana Pandemic recovery initiative, which is funded by the American Rescue Plan.
