Cash for the homeless?
Effective Compassion | What one nonprofit learned from giving handouts
by Charissa Koh
Posted 12/22/20, 03:59 pm
A Canadian charity got unexpected results when it decided to test whether giving a hand up really is better than giving a handout.
Foundations for Social Change recently released the findings of a study in which it gave homeless people thousands of dollars and followed them for a year. News outlets said the results contradicted stereotypes about the harms of cash payments to the homeless, but those reports overlooked some important features of the study.