Chelsea Pilots Cash Payments To Residents In Need

Residents in the city of Chelsea have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic — both in terms of public health and financial well-being.

Hunger sits right at the intersection of the two issues. Right now, Chelsea has a coronavirus test positivity rate of almost 3.7 percent, and by some reports, nearly 40 percent of residents have said they sometimes don't have enough to eat.

As part of the city's economic efforts to aid struggling families, Chelsea is making a bold policy decision: direct cash payments to residents, to spend however they'd like.

For more on how the program will work and its goals, we speak with Chelsea city manager Tom Ambrosino and Jill Shah, president of the Shah Family Foundation, which has donated some 1 million dollars to the Chelsea program.