Unconditional cash transfers reduce homelessness

"Abstract
Homelessness is an economic and social crisis. In a cluster-randomized controlled trial, we address a core cause of homelessness—lack of money—by providing a one-time unconditional cash transfer of CAD$7,500 to each of 50 individuals experiencing homelessness, with another 65 as controls in Vancouver, BC. Exploratory analyses showed that over 1 y, cash recipients spent fewer days homeless, increased savings and spending with no increase in temptation goods spending, and generated societal net savings of $777 per recipient via reduced time in shelters. Additional experiments revealed public mistrust toward the ability of homeless individuals to manage money and demonstrated interventions to increase public support for a cash transfer policy using counter-stereotypical or utilitarian messaging. Together, this research offers a new approach to address homelessness and provides insights into homelessness reduction policies.

Significance

A core cause of homelessness is a lack of money, yet few services provide immediate cash assistance as a solution. We provided a one-time unconditional CAD$7,500 cash transfer to individuals experiencing homelessness, which reduced homelessness and generated net societal savings over 1 y. Two additional studies revealed public mistrust in homeless individuals’ ability to manage money and the benefit of counter-stereotypical or utilitarian messaging in garnering policy support for cash transfers. This research adds to growing global evidence on cash transfers’ benefits for marginalized populations and strategies to increase policy support. Although not a panacea, cash transfers may hasten housing stability with existing social supports. Together, this research offers a new tool to reduce homelessness to improve homelessness reduction policies."


https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2222103120

meanwhile at op's house:

Just give them money, I'm sure that will fix their situation......

I get why you don't like the results

"Study counters public perception that cash would just be spent on drugs and booze"

I'm sure an alcoholic won't spend money given to them on booze, same with hypes......

And if you believe in what you posted, then why aren't you giving them your money?

OP's absolute covid hysteria is making a lot more sense now...

It can be challenging to reconcile differences between popular narratives and data

I am happy to help out reluctant homeless people who have fallen on hard times and desperately want to get back on their feet. I am not keen on helping out addicts though.

So we need to subsidize the poor choices of others?

Expanding would take a lot of funding. Researchers have limited funds

“I am for doing good to the poor, but...I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it.

I observed...that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer.

And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.”

― Benjamin Franklin

Isn't Franklin from Philadelphia?

That worked out well for them...

Perhaps you should start unconditionally transferring your funds to the homeless, if you are so convinced of it's effectiveness and want to preach about it.

Reduces homelessness? Okay, and? Some cities put homeless in hotels for months at a time. Yes shelters are then less full. Sounds like six, one have dozen the other. Society will be paying either way. The question is what happens in the longer term.

I dunno why posting a recent study would be considered preaching

Is your criticism of this study that it wasn't long-term? Do you think following the cohorts for a longer period of time would resolve that concern?

Author contributions R.D., A.P., C.W., and J.Z. designed research


Competing interests J.Z. was on the NLP board of directors from 2016 to 2020.




You mean a guy on the board of directors for the organization for four years designed a study and the study concluded that the program works?? I’m shocked!

Lulz.

Excellent critique

The study was conducted by UBC

"Employment and Social Development Canada grant #1442779 (C.W., J.Z.), McConnell Foundation grant (C.W. and J.Z.), Catherine Donnelly Foundation grant (C.W. and J.Z.). Power to Give Foundation grant (C.W. and J.Z.), NSF grant SUB0000108 (J.Z.), Sloan Foundation grant SUB0000054 (J.Z.), Vanier Scholarship (R.D.)."

I mean giving all the homeless 7k and watching half of them fall over dead by next week from fent does seem like it would reduce homelessness

Thesis checks out

Which section reports 50% mortality?

When will your unconditional transfers begin?

You think I’m reading about something that’s obviously true. I fully support this, and the ones who don’t kill themselves are in a path to functioning addict so it’s win/win.

I'm not currently homeless

Yeah. Why would someone read something with a title they don't like?

Give them makework jobs from the military

Most like to bully them. can overdo it

Semantics again.

Point is give YOUR money to them and stop queefing about studies.

This is going to be one of the worst examples of academia collision with reality BS studies I've ever seen.


The biggest experiment in modern history- Covid weekly handouts - proved the concept of any form of universal basic income -and money hand out -as a failed concept.

On the widest scale possible

Where is this money coming from?

Data and statistics can never be manipulated...... Ever.