How $750 a month changed the lives of a group of homeless people in California (December 2023)
www.usatoday.com

... Can putting money directly in the hands of people experiencing homelessness make a difference? A new California study on basic income suggests it can.

Ben Henwood, a professor at the University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, partnered with the nonprofit Miracle Messages to give 103 people in the San Francisco Bay area and Los Angeles County $750 per month for a year. The six-month report is preliminary, but Henwood said the findings provide insight into ways to help address the problem.

"They're just segments of the population given the income disparities, that despite having jobs and working, they're not making enough to just afford basic needs and they're getting priced out of the housing market," he said.

Miracle Messages CEO and founder Kevin F. Adler said the $2.1 million study grew out of a pilot program from the nonprofit that gave 14 unhoused people $500 per month. In that study, he said the funds donated funds allowed two-thirds of the people to secure housing.

"What we've seen is most of the money being spent on a mix of housing and food security," Adler said. "We've also had folks use money for family emergencies, child care, and other basic needs." ...