$500 boost available to eligible US residents: Apply now for one-time payment program before deadline

Chicago’s Resiliency Fund 2.0 is offering one-time payments of $500 to eligible city residents who had difficulty accessing federal COVID-19 relief stimulus payments, according to a report by CBS News on November 2, 2022.

The program, which is a partnership between the city and local non-profits, is open to heads of households with dependents age 17 or older, domestic workers, and undocumented residents.

To be eligible, applicants must live in Chicago, make no more than 300% of the federal poverty level, be 18 years of age or older, and have claimed a 17-year-old or older dependent on their 2019 tax return, based on the advisory released by the City of Chicago.

Heads of households with adult dependents have just one more week to apply, while applications for domestic workers and undocumented residents will be accepted into the new year.

Families will be chosen at random through a lottery, and only one member of a household can apply. The program has 2000 slots still available.

Interested residents can fill out an interest form on the program’s website to qualify for the lottery. Undocumented residents and domestic workers can find information about their payment and access an application form on the website.

According to a report by The US Sun on December 24, 2022, applications close at 5 p.m. on New Year’s Eve for households with dependents. It should be noted that the Chicago Resiliency Fund 2.0 should not be confused with the Chicago Resilient Communities guaranteed basic income pilot program, which began providing $500 monthly payments to 5,000 low-income families in July.

Cook County, which includes Chicago, also has a basic income pilot program that started sending out $500 checks this month. In addition, California is sending out the last two batches of its middle-class tax refund payments, totaling up to $1,050, with the last payments being mailed by January 14.