The idea of giving an unconditional cash payment directly to someone experiencing homelessness is often met with resistance. As Olivia Tucker, Housing First Worker at The Wallich, says, “we're always wary when people gain a large sum of money.” 

However, a ground-breaking project, Personal Grants, is testing just this - whether cash transfers can help support people out of homelessness. Cash transfers for poverty alleviation have shown promising results across the world, but homelessness-specific evidence is lacking in the UK.  

Frontline workers: Navigating risk, facilitating dignity

Support workers involved in the first phase of this project, like Olivia and David Oliver, (from Simon Community Scotland), began the trial with concerns, especially around financial instability and clients struggling with alcohol and other drug use. “On paper, it looks great,” David said. “But in practice, how will it pan out?” 

For both support workers, curiosity and excitement about the opportunity overtook these reservations. For Olivia, the chance to offer people experiencing homelessness real autonomy was compelling, “giving them a real chance to have their own autonomy and independence on using the money for what they feel serves themselves best.” 

The idea of this trial offering a powerful counter-narrative to misconceptions is an important one - that it can unlock autonomy, build trust and support people to build better lives. 

Transformative results 

This project was a randomised controlled trial, meaning once potential clients had been identified, they were randomly assigned to either a ‘control’ group where they would receive business as usual services, or an ‘intervention’ group where they would receive the funds as well as business as usual services. 

This autonomy wasn’t just a policy idea—it became an emotional turning point. Olivia described the moment of informing a client they’d been selected to receive the grant, “It felt like handing them the winning lottery ticket.”

Once the results of the intervention group began coming in, David shared how the wariness vanished, “It's changed my mind. I was always a bit, I wouldn't say closed minded, but I couldn't see how it could make a significant change… You hope for the best for your clients if you want to do the best for them but how often does something really positive come off?” Support workers can often feel they’re battling rigid systems but this trial gave them a rare opportunity to simply say yes, to trust their clients.

What frontline staff saw, repeatedly, were people using funds not recklessly, but resourcefully. Likewise, Olivia shared the transformative results of a client who “came from a time where they'd slept rough, they've begged, they've used substances, to now, from them being housed and having independence, it really complimented the support they were already receiving.”

The importance of growing the evidence-base 

Cash transfers aren’t a silver bullet, but they can be the difference between stagnation and progression. In a sector where people can remain stuck in cycles, they may actively prevent eviction, relapse or enable people to permanently leave homelessness. 

The importance of growing the evidence-base around these types of interventions is vital and as Olivia says, “if we're all to be working towards the Welsh Government's aim that homelessness should be rare, brief, and non-recurring, it's this kind of program, this kind of innovative work that could get us to that stage.” David concurs, saying “if you have an evidence base, you show that we've tested it, it’s not just a guess.”

The power of trust and autonomy 

Support workers like David came into the trial wary, but left convinced. They recognised that clients didn't just receive money - they regained agency, dignity and direction over their own lives. 

This project is ongoing and is expanding to reach 250 more participants in London and Belfast and interim findings are expected in summer next year. What those at the frontline are already demonstrating is that when people are trusted with choice, dignity, and meaningful support, remarkable things happen.

To find out more and keep up-to-date on this trial, click here. 

We wish to thank Olivia, David and all frontline workers involved for their time and dedication on this project.