Posted on 06/19/21
| News Source: NY Post
Young homeless people in the Big Apple will soon be getting $1,250 in no-strings-attached cash each month — in a $2.5 million city-backed experiment to see if they use it to get off the streets and try to get jobs.
The “Trust Youth Initiative” — partially funded by the city — will start with up to 40 homeless people ages 18 to 24, “especially Black, Indigenous, Latinx and LGBTQ youth,” the organizers said in a release.
They will get the monthly cash for up to two years, with no limits on how they spend it — and larger up-front payments available to get into housing.
A “rigorous evaluation” will then “compare the outcomes and experiences” of the target group with others getting smaller stipends and regular homeless services, such as access to shelters, City Hall said.
“The project’s flexible approach aims to improve young people’s stable housing and well-being by providing the means to afford the types of housing they choose and the supports to make investments in their own goals, education, and career development,” City Hall said in a release.
The project — which will open to “significantly more youth” in later phases — will cost $2.5 million, with $200,000 from the city and another $300,000 raised through the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, which is chaired by first lady Chirlane McCray. The rest will come from private donations from various trusts and foundations.