Ligia Teixeira, chief executive of the Centre for Homelessness Impact, said: “Our cash transfers project is rooted in a straightforward yet powerful belief: when people have direct access to resources, they gain agency over their lives and livelihoods.
“By challenging outdated assumptions about how support is delivered, we hope to see not just immediate relief but real shifts in economic participation, decision-making and resilience.
“We need to ask ourselves what is best for all of us in society. Do we continue to invest in an ever growing crisis system or do we give those at risk even better opportunities to self exit?”
While cash transfers are widely used in low and middle income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, there have been fewer programmes that give cash transfers to people affected by homelessness and, until now, none of any scale in the UK.
With the cost of homelessness skyrocketing across the UK, CFIH’s trial is looking to evaluate whether direct cash transfers can reduce poverty and boost health as well as participation in society and the economy.
The randomised controlled trial, funded by Citi Foundation and St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity, will show the impact on participants’ housing stability one year after they received the money when final results are published in 2027.
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Researchers will also use surveys to assess any impact on their housing quality and satisfaction, wellbeing, financial security, social connectedness and contact with public services and the criminal justice system.
Initial observations, however, are promising.
One man used some of the money to pay off debts and the remainder to furnish a new home, as he moved out of temporary accommodation.
A parent bought a car to be able to drop their children off at school and one participant has used the money to fund driving lessons and hopes to buy a car. Another young man also paid off debts and began researching courses to enable him to find work as a plumber.
One woman said that the money came just at the right time, as she was struggling with childcare costs. For a young person who wasn’t able to study at university because they couldn’t afford the fees, the money has given them hope to continue pursuing education.
Other items purchased include children’s clothes and Christmas presents, tickets for a first ever holiday abroad and savings to start a business. One woman said the money had come at the perfect time as she was heavily pregnant and had just been offered a move-on property.
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Angie Allgood is founder and director of NEWway Project in Newham, East London, which is one of the delivery partners alongside Change Please Foundation, Centrepoint, Lambeth Council and more.
Allgood said: “So far, the guests that have received the money have spoken about feeling more optimistic, happier, hopeful and can see a better future. We are excited to see the long term outcomes.”
In a pilot phase of the trial, items purchased included sports equipment, a television, a mobile phone, furniture, gym membership, books and clothes.
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Several participants gave money or bought gifts for relatives or friends. Three months after receiving the windfall, some people had not spent all of the money and put left-over cash in a bank account as savings.
So far, there have been no adverse outcomes for participants taking part in this trial.
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Michael Sanders, professor of public policy at King’s College London, which is evaluating the trial, said: “Evidence from Canada suggests that when people experiencing homelessness get a cash sum they invest in themselves and in their future.
“This exciting project is testing for the first time and at greater scale whether this approach works to improve outcomes for people affected by homelessness in the UK, and so will add to our knowledge of evidence-based ways to end homelessness.”
Big Issue reported on CFIH’s experiments with giving people with experience of homelessness earlier this year.
The personalised budgets trial saw people like Kim, who was supported by Kent homelessness charity Porchlight, use the money she received to take up a civil law course with the hope of eventually helping other people like her.
“When you’re homeless, it’s like you’ve been put at the back of the queue,” said Kim. “There’s no stability, which makes you more likely to turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms. But when you know someone’s helping you, you’re more likely to try and make a change.
“When I was awarded this money, it was overwhelming. It is a lot of money to people like us – I felt like I’d won the lottery. I bought a phone, laptop and printer so I can do a college course. I want to do civil law so I can advocate for people who are homeless. Getting this money gives you hope.”
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