A growing body of research suggests Black youth in the U.S. experience higher rates of poverty, illness and discrimination than their white counterparts. COVID-19 exposures throughout the pandemic, along with limited support services to address and mitigate poverty and structural inequities, increase the risks of health inequities amongst communities of color.
A new research collaboration among OHSU-PSU School of Public Health, University of California at San Francisco and the community-based youth program MyPath will observe how guaranteed income and financial capability training can impact the financial, mental and physical well-being of low-income Black youth, ages 18 to 25, as they transition to independence.
“This study will provide the critical data needed to understand the potential of guaranteed income for Black youth, and how to maximize its impact on health at a time when multiple municipalities, counties and states are considering legislation to support such programs,” says Marguerita Lightfoot, Ph.D., associate dean of research in the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health, and one of the project’s three principal investigators.
Additional information about the project, which is funded by a $9 million grant (award number 1U01OD033266-01) from the National Institute of Health’s Transformative Research to Address Health Disparities and Advance Health Equity program, is available here.