New York City To Help Some Homeless Young Adults with Monthly Cash Payments

Photo by Alex Azabache from Pexels

New York, New York is planning to set a pilot program that is aimed to combat homelessness. Specifically, this program will target young adults by providing them monthly cash payments.

This program was developed by Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. Chapin Hall is located on 1313 East 60th Street in Chicago, Illinois and contains a panel of national and international experts surrounding research and policy. You can take a look at some of the experts they have at this time.

However, this specific homeless program for select New York residents was financially supported by the city of New York. You can watch the video below to learn more about it:

The plan is to have this research program provide a $1250 a month payment to only 40 participants that are aged 18 years to 25 years for up to 2 years now. The aim of this program is to help these individuals eventually find stable housing.

According to a statement prepared by Matthew Morton of Chapin Hall:

“Direct cash transfers are supported by a solid international evidence base, and they recognize people’s agency."

The same statement also suggested that:

"Providing direct financial assistance with supports to young people has the potential to empower them to make investments in their own success while helping to counter racial inequities stemming from legacies of injustice."

From the sounds of it, this program will mostly target young people who have lived experiences surrounding homelessness, identify as part of the BIPOC community, and/or are LGBTQIA.

BIPOC stands for black, indigenous, and people of colour. LGBTQIA stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, intersex, and asexual.

New York's outgoing mayor is Bill de Blasio. He had reportedly suggested that this program (alongside other homelessness initiatives) will help uplift the younger generations and reinforce a renewed commitment to end youth homelessness.

For example, back in 2019, he had unveiled a first-in-the-nation six-point Action Plan with the intent to curb street homelessness over the next five years. Here's a video to summarize it:

Harking back to the Chapin Hall website, it suggests that:

"Contrary to common beliefs, studies have shown that cash transfers to people experiencing adversity do not result in money poorly spent, increased substance use, or reduced motivation to work."

This means that the logic here is that these individuals will carefully spend their money, decrease/stop substance use, and have a boost that can help them find work a little bit easier.

Once this is underway, this person will be on a whole new trajectory with their life. Plus, you'd be surprised as to what a little money can do for someone who is used to not having much.

Back in 2018, researchers with Chapin Hall published a research study surrounding homelessness. They reported that at least one in every 10 adults between the ages of 18 to 25 in the United States has slept on the streets, run away, been in shelters, kicked out of home, and/or couch-surfed in the previous year alone.

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

That's a surprising amount of people who have done one or more of these things.

The same study suggested that one in every 30 adolescents between the ages of 13-17 experienced some kind of homelessness as well. The study summarized that elements like housing instability and associated stresses can often worsen adulthood outcomes.

It is really scary to think that especially with the ongoing pandemic, homelessness is a much bigger issue, especially in vibrant places like New York, New York. There's also a lot of complexity involved too since those who might be visibly LGBTQIA might be pushed away from their homes, while similar things may happen with those who are BIPOC also.

We can only hope for the best when it comes to the next generation of New Yorkers.

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