Direct Cash Transfers
Placing power and resources directly in the hands of young people.
#TrustYouth
The Trust Youth Initiative, a joint effort from Point Source Youth, the Ali Forney Center, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago and UpTogether, is the first study of the effectiveness of direct cash transfers (DCT) with optional supportive services for youth experiencing homelessness. The participants in the New York City-based project (ages 18–24) receive $1,150 on a monthly basis for up to 2 years. With the support of the Economic Security Project, we have undertaken a video storytelling project to showcase the initial experiences of young adults who received the first round of direct cash transfers in New York City. Watch and share our video on the impact and growing body of evidence that shows that DCT can support youth and improve outcomes for people experiencing homelessness.
The Direct Cash Transfers Handbook
A guide to successfully help you move through ideation, implementation and evaluation.
What are Direct Cash Transfers?
Direct Cash Transfers (DCT) are a growing global intervention proven to meet the needs of young people remotely, digitally, and efficiently. The way DCT programs for youth work is simple: program staff distributes cash to youth either remotely or safely in person at a frequency (weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly) that works best for them.
Service providers are able to exercise flexibility in administering DCT programs, which allows for increased bandwidth for higher-touch interventions on the part of program staff, and greater agency for young people. Programs can offer optional support programs with a peer navigator including higher education and career counseling in addition to traditional case management.
Cash transfer programs are more likely to be cost-effective than traditional interventions to youth homelessness while also equipping young people with the resources they need to make the best decisions they’ve determined for their own lives.
DCT programs require 3 commitments:
1
championing housing stability and youth empowerment
The goal of a DCT program should be to empower youth to sustainably exit homelessness. Young people who participate in DCT programs should be given the support they ask for unconditionally to thrive according to their terms.
2
Adopting a flexible & simple approach
Every young person has a different experience that creates diverse needs and preferences. By granting young people the choice of payment delivery and optional support, programs allow youth a unique opportunity to succeed through making their own decisions. Both staff and youth benefit from the efficiency created by simple DCT program design.
3
Centralization on youth choice, equity, and trust
The needs and preferences of young people need to be at the center of a DCT program for it to succeed. Along with Chapin Hall, we found that the needs of LGBTQ youth and youth of color who face discrimination and exclusion through existing systems need to be specifically elevated.
How Direct Cash Transfers Work (in 90 seconds)
Direct Cash Transfers: The Proof Is in Their Stories
The data is clear: Giving young adults targeted funds for immediate housing assistance is an efficient way to prevent and end youth homelessness. What the data doesn’t show is how cash assistance changes lives. In this storytelling series, recipients of the program across the country talk about how the money and the support that came with it gave them space to rebuild relationships, support their families, and enroll in school. The recipients didn’t have to navigate the red tape associated with other assistance programs. They were entrusted with the tools they needed to find stability and opportunity.
A California Story
Deja Is Proof That Resilience Creates Beauty
An Oregon Story
Gabrielle Is Living the American Dream
Upcoming Projects
Designing a Direct Cash Transfer Program
Point Source Youth examines the landscape of youth homelessness in Los Angeles County, focusing on the aspirations of young people in LA County for Empower LA Direct Cash Transfers. It includes findings and recommendations from focus groups with individuals aged 18-30 who have experienced homelessness or housing instability, concluding with a group consensus on Empower LA's implementation.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
