“I was either using my old laptop or using my mum’s laptop, which obviously I can’t use in the evening. So I was saving up for a PC and it was one of those things where whenever I would need the money, it meant that I’d have to take that from the savings that I was using. So it was a struggle.
“That was one of the first things that I thought of instantly when I knew I had the money coming through. It’s definitely made my performance in my assignments a lot better.”
The goal of the trial was to find out whether the money had any impact in preventing homelessness.
Care leavers are at greater risk of homelessness and government statistics show around one in 10 new care leavers in England ending up homeless in 2024-25.
Participants were able to spend the money however they pleased. A total of nine local authorities took part in the trial, including: Birmingham, Bolton, Camden, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Walsall, Warrington, and Warwickshire.
Researchers heard recipients initially spent more on bills and transport costs. After one year, participants’ additional spending on bills had dropped back to only slightly more, whereas they were spending slightly less on transport.
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Young people who received the cash transfer consistently reported, however, that they spent 12% less on alcohol, tobacco or drugs than they had previously.
The trial is one of several CFHI is carrying out to assess whether offering direct cash transfers can be a cost-effective and empowering tool to prevent homelessness.
Dr Ligia Teixeira, CFHI chief executive, said: “We are excited to have the first results from rigorous causal research to test their effectiveness in preventing homelessness.
“Policymakers and local authority leaders should consider direct financial support for young people leaving care, with no strings attached, as a policy tool and a practical way of helping their transition to independent living.”
Researchers found participants who received the money were eight percentage points more likely to say their housing was stable six months later.
There was also a 6.6 percentage point drop in ‘sofa surfing’ after six months among care leavers given £2,000. However, this effect had diminished six months later with the group 3.3 percentage points less likely to have sofa surfed.
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This is equivalent to eight more care leavers out of every 100 having stable housing and around seven fewer sofa surfing out of every 100.
Up to four out of 100 fewer care leavers experienced an eviction linked to anti-social behaviour over the period.
People received a wellbeing boost too. Up to five out of every 100 said they felt more optimistic for the future, useful, interested in others and able to deal with problems well a year after receiving the cash.
The results also suggested the payment could save the NHS money. Young people in the trial were more likely to see a GP, attend a drop-in clinic or take other preventative health action. That saw 17 fewer overnight stays in hospital among the group who received the cash.
Michael Sanders, professor of public policy at King’s College London, told Big Issue that the findings were “encouraging”, particularly the health outcomes.
“This, for me, points to what is one of the most important things we might be able to do with this kind of approach where we are more generous and more trusting,” said Sanders. “We can move from dealing with crises to empowering people to prevent problems from arising.”
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Sanders noted that the impact on recipients’ housing tended to shrink over time, suggesting that long-term homelessness prevention may require more than a one-off cash transfer.
But the trial did challenge perceptions of care leavers and “recognised they themselves are usually best placed to make decisions about their lives”.
“This group of young people in particular who’ve grown up in care, they’ve had to be really mature a lot sooner than certainly I did,” said Sanders. “And that does make them, in many cases, just a lot more sensible than I was when I was 18. I think that’s a bit of a surprise.
“It turns out that, for a meaningful number of people, £2,000 at the right point in time can change the trajectory of their life. Maybe not forever but for a bit.”
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Aeryn told Big Issue she would like to see people receive more support when they leave care and taking part in the trial has encouraged her to advocate for others.
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“I want to try and make this into a big thing,” said Aeryn. “Obviously, it doesn’t have to be the amount of money I got, but I want it to be a case of every care leaver gets support and has their needs supported. Even if it’s just £50 or £100 or just leaflets with where to go for support, I wish I had that because it was something I didn’t get.
“If I’m part of why they get that in the future that will make me feel better because it meant that I was improving somebody’s care-leaving experience, which I didn’t get and I really struggled after that.”
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