Youth-Driven Supportive Programming and Direct Cash Transfers
Evaluating a Model for Reducing Youth Homelessness
In the U.S., 1 in 10 young adults experience homelessness each year, with disproportionate impacts on American Indian and Alaska Native, Black, multiracial, and Hispanic youth and youth who have been involved with the child welfare or juvenile justice systems. Young people identifying as LGBTQ+ face an increased risk for homelessness and the intersection of different marginalized identities compounds inequities among youth experiencing homelessness.
Current housing solutions for youth homelessness often lack flexibility or are not readily available, leaving many young adults waiting long periods of time without stable housing. The Cash Plus Model offers a promising alternative—pairing direct cash transfers with youth-driven supportive services to empower young adults in securing safe, stable housing. Through ongoing implementation and impact evaluations, Chapin Hall is studying how the model affects permanent exits from homelessness, housing stability, well-being financial health, and overall life outcomes for young people over time.
Model Descriptions
Chapin Hall is evaluating the Cash Plus Model’s impacts in two sites—New York City and San Francisco—with the goal of strengthening the evidence base to inform policies, practices, and investments for reducing youth and young adult homelessness. The first two briefs describe the Cash Plus model and how we are evaluating it. The Evaluation brief introduces the Pathways study and evaluation of the Trust Youth Initiative. The Policy brief describes unconditional direct cash transfers (DCTs) and their potential impacts.
Cash Plus Model Pathways Evaluation Brief
Cash Plus Model Pathways Policy Brief
The Cash Plus Approach
Unconditional DCTs provide young adults with the flexibility to choose housing options that fit their needs. The Trust Youth Initiative, co-designed with young adults, offers regular bimonthly payments equivalent to rent costs, along with a one-time larger lump sum payment to invest in their goals. The “plus” component includes youth-driven supportive services such as housing navigation, financial coaching, counseling and access to educational and career opportunities designed to support long-term stability.
NYC Pathways Study and Trust Youth Initiative Overview
SF Pathways Study and Trust Youth Initiative: A Cash Plus Model in San Francisco
Cash Plus Model Pathways Infographic
Extending This Work
Our issue brief, Maintaining Long-Term Study Engagement with Young People Experiencing Homelessness, draws on experiences conducting the New York City study and shares strategies that can be applied more broadly to retain long-term study participants from other under-engaged populations.
Issue Brief: Long-Term Study Engagement with Young People Experiencing Homelessness
For more information about Chapin Hall’s work on youth driven supportive services with direct cash transfers for youth, contact Sarah Berger Gonzalez.
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