The Policy Institute at King’s College London and the Centre for Homelessness Impact share the findings from Phase 1 of the Personal Grants project. This was the first trial of its kind in the UK to assess the impact of unconditional cash transfers on those experiencing homelessness, providing evidence on a new approach to supporting those experiencing homelessness.

Key findings:

We were not able to assess the impact of the Personal Grant quantitatively due to limitations with the data; specifically, the low sample size retained to the final data collection.

Qualitative data suggests that the transfers were used for a range of positive purchases. There were no reported uses of the transfers for drugs,
alcohol or gambling.

There is some evidence that transfers may have supported participants’ wellbeing by allowing them to make long-term choices, communicate more regularly with family, and buy essentials.

This initial phase of work demonstrated the feasibility (with modifications) of implementing a randomise controlled trial (RCT) in the UK evaluating the impact of Personal Grants for people with experience of homelessness.

The lessons learned from this phase of work have helped improve upon the evaluation design and implementation for the next phase of this project.