Program gave youth $3K to avoid NYC homeless shelters. So far, it's working.

A nonprofit trying to end youth homelessness pitched a radical idea last year: What if they gave young people on the brink of homelessness cash, with almost no strings attached, to help them keep a roof over their heads?

Early results from the pilot show it worked.

Point Source Youth’s first-of-its-kind program gave one-time cash payments between $645 and $9,900 to young people at imminent risk of losing their housing. They were able to use that money to cover housing costs, food or other bills — affording them the flexibility to use the money where they needed it most. The program launched in seven states, including New York.

Results shared with Gothamist show 97% of New York City youth who participated in the pilot program last year said they remained stably housed 30 days after receiving their payment. Nationally, 90% were stably housed after a month and 93.5% who have so far responded say they avoided homelessness for three months after receiving the payment.

The program’s supporters say the numbers prove moving money quickly and giving young people the agency to spend cash where they need it is effective. They say it could be a way to save taxpayer spending on the city’s shelter system, where about 114,000 New Yorkers sleep every night.

“If a young person needs some money not to experience homelessness, why would we not give it to them?” said Larry Cohen, executive director and co-founder of Point Source Youth. “ This isn't adults with leases who are about to be evicted; these are young people with backpacks who need immediate stability and have no place to go.”

On average, young people, who are between 16 and 27, received $3,700 and about half the money went to housing, relocation or utility costs. The rest went toward transportation costs, groceries, clothes, cell phone bills, child care, pet food and health care.

Cohen said the program spends a few thousand dollars to stop people from entering the shelter system, which costs $143 a day or $52,000 a year in the city for an individual. In New York City, 98 young people were helped. Three months after receiving the cash, the 24 people who responded all said they’re still housed.

Johanna Ramirez, director of youth employment for Henry Street Settlement, one of the local nonprofits that was part of the pilot, said most of the young people they worked with were either living in places where they felt unsafe because there was some conflict in the home or facing eviction.

”They really just needed that leg up, that boost,” she said. “They found themselves in a situation where rainy days came and they didn't have that savings fund to cover whatever expenses that rainy day brought and so they fall behind on rent and once you fall behind it can be hard to catch back up.”

Ramirez said most programs have a list of rules and requirements to ensure people are eligible and that also restrict how certain benefits can be used, which is why she was cautious of how flexible the cash pilot was at first.

”We didn't have to check a bunch of boxes for eligibility. It was really just looking into the need, identifying the need. If our funding prevents you from being homeless, you are eligible,” she said. “ I've never seen anything like that before.”

Some young people wanted money to stay at an Airbnb after leaving an unsafe apartment and while they waited to move into a new place. Others needed a storage unit, food or help paying their cellphone bill because they needed their phone to be able to work. In one instance, one participant worked for UberEats and needed their phone to be able to take orders, earn money and pay their rent.

Ramirez said the program even allowed young people to budget some of the money for “joy,” such as relationship building and fun.

”If a young person is in a household where there's a lot of conflict with their parents, what can we do to help foster that relationship so that it's a more symbiotic relationship and it's also a safer place and a more comfortable place for that young person to be?” she said.

Ramirez said that could sometimes include a family counseling session followed by movie tickets or a meal.

”Sometimes the solution is easier than we think,” Ramirez said.

One participant, who asked to be identified only by her initials for fear it could jeopardize her job prospects, said the money helped her bridge the few months she was in housing limbo as she aged out of foster care and tried to find an apartment. She said she used the money for food.

“When you come from having to think about your basic survival to finally not having to stress about it, you realize how much of a toll it takes on your mind and body. You finally have a clear mind to do what you need to do,” said M.G., 20. “Trying to view an apartment when you’re extremely hungry is not going to work.”

Chantella Mitchell, program director for the New York Community Trust, a prominent charitable group in the city that's funding advocacy efforts around the cash program, said young people often have an especially hard time navigating the city’s tight rental market, which has a 1.4% vacancy rate.

“ The way that the program is designed in terms of efficiency and how quickly young people are able to access the finances and the services are really crucial to the success,” she said.

The program also helped the young person’s family members or roommates to help them stay housed.

Cohen said the program will also report additional data in August. He added that the small percentage of young people who did not report being housed in some cases did not respond to the survey.

He said he plans to expand the program in the city and work with new states as well.