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SANTA FE – New Mexico families who qualified for a federal cash aid program this year will receive a one-time cash payment of $ 446 this weekend as part of the final round of financial pandemic.
The government of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said Friday that the $ 5.6 million program will benefit nearly 13,000 families and, unlike a previous cash aid program, will not require eligible residents to apply.
“My government will continue to aggressively take every route to help working families get the services and support they need, be it childcare, energy aid or cash for other necessities,” the Democratic governor said in a statement.
The cash payments are designed to help low-income families pay for housing, utilities, groceries, clothing, and other expenses.
They are transferred directly to the electronic power transfer (or EBT) cards of those who are already receiving monthly cash benefits from the state HR department, which runs several federally funded safety net programs.
Only New Mexico residents who qualified in January and received benefits from various cash assistance programs will receive the one-time payment, with one payment issued for each qualified household, a human resources spokeswoman said.
Under current eligibility guidelines, a family of four with incomes up to $ 2,209 per month – or approximately $ 26,500 per year – is eligible for the state cash benefit program. Such a family is entitled to a maximum of US $ 539 in cash aid per month.
New Mexico has long struggled with poverty-related issues, and the state’s median household income of $ 48,283 was among the lowest in 2018, according to the US Census Bureau.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, both the federal and state governments approved financial aid programs for low-income residents and frontline workers, and the aid programs have spurred consumer spending in New Mexico.
“The public health emergency has disproportionately affected so many families working to make ends meet,” said Angela Medrano, an assistant secretary for human services. “These funds are essential to provide families with much-needed financial relief.”
More than 4,000 low-income New Mexico households who did not receive federal economic checks during the pandemic received $ 750 in cash this year as part of a previous government-funded program a week.
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