British Columbia’s Cash Stipend Pilot For Homeless Saved Nearly $800 Per Participant Over 12 Months

A pilot in British Columbia, Canada that provided 50 homeless individuals with a one-time cash stipend of $7,500 resulted in saving the province $8,277 per person over the next 12 months, for a net annual savings of $777 per person. The lump sum cash stipend amount equaled the annual income assistance in British Columbia in 2016 which did not impact participants’ existing eligibility for future benefits.

The participants could use the stipend as they wished, and most used it to cover housing costs. Compared to a control group of 65 homeless people who did not receive the . . .