Officials in Harris County, Texas, are slated to alert applicants who have been selected for its pilot basic income program for low-income individuals within 11 days.

The county announced earlier this week that roughly 83,000 people have applied for the Uplift Harris program and added that it will notify those selected for the pilot program by Feb. 26, per the Houston Chronicle.

“Reducing poverty and helping families who are struggling to meet basic needs should not be a political debate,” Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a statement, per the outlet. “Our community is experiencing poverty at rates higher than other communities in Texas and around the nation, and we as county leaders have a duty to do everything we can to address it.”

The program in Harris County will give 1,928 recipients $500 payments for 18 months, beginning in April. The funds used for the program is an allocated $20.5 million from the American Rescue Plan, which President Joe Biden signed into law in March 2021. Despite the currently limited timetable for the program, officials have said they want “long-term sustainability and gradual expansion” for the program’s future.

“We’ll be looking into how we can fund this program long-term and hopefully help even more families in the future,” Hidalgo said.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Those who were eligible to apply for the program included residents who are 200% below the federal poverty line and live in one of Harris County’s “high-poverty ZIP codes” or those who are in the county’s Accessing Coordinated Care and Empowering Self Sufficiency and have an income 200% below the federal poverty line.

The Harris County Commissioners Court approved the pilot program in June 2023, with applications being open from January through Feb. 2. Several jurisdictions have tested out and implemented basic income programs with mixed results, with some using funds from federal relief bills — like the American Rescue Plan — to do so.