
Here is news of a promising study from the University of British Columbia about New Leaf, a program that distributes lump sum cash payments to people who are homeless.
The program began in 2018. The study follows 115 people who were experiencing homelessness to evaluate the potential of the lump sum payments. Follow up questionnaires and interviews provided data for analysis. After one year, participants who received the payments spent less time homeless and more time in housing, compared to their counterparts who received the same amount of payment spread out over a year.
The design for New Leaf was inspired by the Rough Sleepers Initiative in England, which allowed lump sum cash payments to help people leave the streets. There were promising results among the people who received a lump sum payment.
People often question whether people who receive lump sum payments will spend all their money right away, which often happens when people win lotteries. Compared to lottery winners, New Leaf participants did not indulge in a spending spree. Nor did the people who received the lump sum payments change their consumption of alcohol or other substances, a concern which is often voiced about such programs.
Read more about this interesting program at Foundations for Social Change: New Leaf Project