In May of 2022, we began recruitment into a randomized controlled trial to study the impact of Miracle Money (M$), which is a basic income and social support intervention for people experiencing homelessness. Since then, 103 people experiencing homelessness in either the San Francisco Bay Area or Los Angeles County have been randomly selected to receive $750 per month for 1 year.
A full description of the study protocols can be found here:
https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs- 3287846/v
This report provides a description of those selected to receive Miracle Money and how they spent their money. It also compares how the 69 people who have received at least 6 monthly payments are doing compared to a control group (n=86) who accessed usual homeless services.
Two key findings thus far include that people who received M$ for 6 months are:
- Less likely to be unsheltered as compared to those who accessed usual services;
- Less likely to have unmet basic needs as compared to those who accessed usual services.