<
https://www.positive.news/society/new-way-of-tackling-homelessness-showing-promise/>
"Homelessness is a growing problem in the UK with a record number of people
living in temporary accommodation. It adds urgency to a new trial that will see
homeless people in England and Wales receive direct financial support to help
get them back on their feet.
The pilot will recruit 360 people, half of whom will continue to receive their
current level of support – so acting as a control group – while the other half
will receive extra financial assistance, albeit not directly. The charity
Greater Change will hold and spend money on behalf of participants to ensure
that their benefits payments are uninterrupted.
The trial is being run by King’s College London (KCL). Prof Michael Sanders,
director of KCL’s experimental government unit, told Positive News that it was
inspired by similar schemes in Mexico and Canada.
Since 1997, a cash-transfer scheme in Mexico now known as Prospera has provided
cash support to households living below the minimum welfare line. The programme
has reached more than 26.6 million people and has been shown to improve child
development in rural areas, reduce the likelihood of child labour, and decrease
food insecurity by 15%.
Meanwhile, in Canada, the New Leaf Project saw one-time cash transfers of
CA$7,500 (£4,100) to 115 newly homeless people in the Vancouver area. A study
into the pilot found that it improved outcomes for homeless people and saved
the state money. “Cash transfers may offer a cost-effective solution to combat
homelessness for recently homeless individuals without severe substance use,
alcohol use or psychiatric symptoms,” it concluded.
Contrary to what critics said would happen, recipients generally didn’t buy
so-called “temptation goods” like alcohol, drugs and cigarettes, the study
showed.
Prof Sanders says that such findings add to the sense that “sometimes
governments get in their own way when trying to help people, and that
sometimes, by trusting them to do the right thing, we can achieve greater
impacts more cost effectively”."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
