A USC study has found that paying $750 a month to individuals within a small group of unhoused people in Los Angeles and the Bay Area didn’t significantly reduce homelessness rates among them, according to results released this week.
But the study also found recipients spent nearly all the money on basic needs like food and transportation, countering a narrative that many unhoused people would likely spend it on drugs or alcohol.
“The results demonstrate that concerns about this population’s use of unrestricted money were unfounded and that the cash plus approach can be considered a viable policy option to address homelessness,” said Ben Henwood at the University of Southern California’s School of Social Work, who led the study…