A B.C. study gave 50 homeless people $7,500 each. Here's what they spent it on.
CTV
A new B.C.-based study undercuts the persistent stereotype that homeless people can't be trusted with cash, according to the lead researcher who says it also highlights a different way to respond to the crisis.
A new B.C.-based study undercuts the persistent stereotype that homeless people can't be trusted with cash, according to the lead researcher who says it also highlights a different way to respond to the crisis.
Dr. Jiaying Zhao, an associate professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, was part of a team that gave 50 homeless people in Vancouver $7,500 and then followed them for a year.
The jumping-off point, Zhao said, was a survey in which respondents estimated that if homeless people were given this amount of money, they would spend four times more than their non-homeless counterparts on so-called "temptation goods."
"People in general don't trust those in homelessness. We think that when we give homeless people money they're going to squander it on drugs and alcohol. That's a deeply ingrained distrust and I think it's unfair and it's not true," Zhao told CTV News.
This distrust – along with stereotypes about who becomes homeless, how and why – is partly why there is widespread resistance to the idea of a potential policy solution that would provide no-strings-attached payments.
"The cash transfer is such a no-brainer. But nobody is willing to try it," Zhao said, explaining why she felt so strongly that it was important to do this particular study of spending.
"We spend billions in a year to manage homelessness and that investment is not getting good returns, because the homelessness crisis is only growing."
