4 ms·

A B.C. research project gave homeless people $7500 each. Results were surprising

36 points by cpncrunch 6y ago

s17n 6y ago
Title would be improved by simply removing "Results were surprising"
- SiempreViernes 6y ago
  Especially since they had this small precondition that they "were not struggling with serious substance use or mental health issues."
  - me_me_me 6y ago
    I would say that is given, you can't help gambler by giving them cash. > serious substance use or mental health issues You need provide different options for those cases ie decriminalize drug use and support addiction fighting initiatives and re-establish mental health system that is currently in de-funded into near non-existence in US
  - vmception 6y ago
    eh I would have abused some substances with some of the money what's the tl;dr
- Firerouge 6y ago
  Definitely, even more so as this title is editorialized, the original title ends with "the results were 'beautifully surprising'" It's also not really a particularly surprising result.
Pfhreak 6y ago
> The 50 cash transfer recipients not only found stable housing, they freed up space in shelters and, according to project data, saved the shelter system $8,100 per person over those 12 months. Key takeaway. Turns out it's way cheaper to provide baseline needs rather than letting people drag along the bottom indefinitely without support. It's also much kinder and more humane.
- klyrs 6y ago
  We have quite a cruel system in Canada, where foster parents are paid over $1000/mo per child; and children are taken away from parents on grounds of poverty, with no offer of such assistance
- Proven 6y ago
  Completely wrong. Since there's supposedly money to be made by investing in the homeless, there is no need to provide baseline needs - private sector can't do that. Why would the government need to get involved into something so simple and profitable (at least according to you) and unnecessarily use our money to compete with for-profit enterprises?
8bitsrule 6y ago
tldr: "On average, cash recipients spent 52 per cent of their money on food and rent, 15 per cent on other items such as medications and bills, and 16 per cent on clothes and transportation.... Williams ... said it costs, on average, $55,000 annually for social and health services for one homeless individual."

36 points by cpncrunch 6y ago

s17n 6y ago

Title would be improved by simply removing "Results were surprising"

SiempreViernes 6y ago
Especially since they had this small precondition that they "were not struggling with serious substance use or mental health issues."
- me_me_me 6y ago
  I would say that is given, you can't help gambler by giving them cash. > serious substance use or mental health issues You need provide different options for those cases ie decriminalize drug use and support addiction fighting initiatives and re-establish mental health system that is currently in de-funded into near non-existence in US
- vmception 6y ago
  eh I would have abused some substances with some of the money what's the tl;dr
Firerouge 6y ago
Definitely, even more so as this title is editorialized, the original title ends with "the results were 'beautifully surprising'" It's also not really a particularly surprising result.

Pfhreak 6y ago

> The 50 cash transfer recipients not only found stable housing, they freed up space in shelters and, according to project data, saved the shelter system $8,100 per person over those 12 months. Key takeaway. Turns out it's way cheaper to provide baseline needs rather than letting people drag along the bottom indefinitely without support. It's also much kinder and more humane.

klyrs 6y ago
We have quite a cruel system in Canada, where foster parents are paid over $1000/mo per child; and children are taken away from parents on grounds of poverty, with no offer of such assistance
Proven 6y ago
Completely wrong. Since there's supposedly money to be made by investing in the homeless, there is no need to provide baseline needs - private sector can't do that. Why would the government need to get involved into something so simple and profitable (at least according to you) and unnecessarily use our money to compete with for-profit enterprises?

8bitsrule 6y ago

tldr: "On average, cash recipients spent 52 per cent of their money on food and rent, 15 per cent on other items such as medications and bills, and 16 per cent on clothes and transportation.... Williams ... said it costs, on average, $55,000 annually for social and health services for one homeless individual."