Preventing Homelessness in Quesnel, BC
In the summer of 2024, I helped set up a homelessness prevention program with the Quesnel Shelter and Support Society. In the summer of 2025, we interviewed participants. Over the last year, I conducted a qualitative analysis of the results. We wrote up a manuscript, submitted to a journal, and now await peer review.
Here is a: link to the preprint on SSRN
I am delighted to report these results. This project will be one of many.
A qualitative study of cash transfers to address homelessness in Quesnel, British Columbia
Humam Aziz, Simon Sheppard, Anita Palepu, Jiaying Zhao
Abstract:
Unconditional cash transfers have emerged as a promising tool for addressing homelessness. However, little research has examined the impact of cash transfers on homelessness in nonmetropolitan settings, where homelessness is more hidden and social services are more limited. To examine this, unconditional cash transfers of CAD $4,000 were distributed to each of the five individuals who were experiencing homelessness or were at risk of homelessness in a small city called Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada. The individuals received the cash transfers in installments of $1,000 per month over four months. We interviewed the participants and the project manager after the cash transfers and conducted a qualitative analysis from the interviews. We found that the cash transfers provided immediate relief from poverty and housing instability and improved short-term health and quality of life. Participants’ spending was primarily on basic needs, including rent, bills, and food. However, long-term effects remain unclear due to the short period of the cash transfers. This research presents qualitative short-term evidence of the impact of cash transfers in mitigating rural homelessness. Implications for future projects examining the long-term impacts of unconditional cash transfer programs on rural homelessness are explored.
Keywords: basic income, homelessness, rural, qualitative coding, public policy
Introduction
Homelessness is on the rise across North America (City of Toronto, 2024; Soucy et al., 2025). In Canada, the number of people experiencing homelessness on a given night has nearly doubled since 2018 (Government of Canada, 2024). Relative to the general population, people experiencing homelessness report higher levels of mental illness (Barry et al., 2024), are more likely to be the victims of both violent and non-violent crime (Ellsworth, 2019), and experience higher rates of mortality (Hwang et al., 2009). The economic costs of homelessness are also substantial, presenting additional burdens to healthcare systems (Richard et al., 2024), social services (Latimer et al., 2017), and law enforcement agencies (Latimer et al., 2020).
While homelessness is often more visible in large urban centers, small towns are no exception to the homelessness crisis (Forchuk et al., 2025a; Taylor, 2018). Following the economic insecurity of the COVID-19 pandemic, many small towns witnessed a surge in homelessness driven by migration of newly homeless individuals from the surrounding areas (Forchuk et al., 2023). In addition to the challenges of homelessness in urban settings, the rural homeless face unique struggles tied to their environment, including the lack of transportation, limited social services, and limited access to supports (Buck-McFadyen, 2022; Forchuk et al., 2025a). When accessing services, anonymity is often compromised due to the small size of these communities, magnifying concerns about stigma (Buck-McFadyen, 2021; Buck-McFadyen, 2022). Rural homelessness is also more commonly hidden, and individuals are less likely to self-identify as homeless (Grodzinski et al., 2011).
Given the limited social services in rural areas, traditional solutions to homelessness are constrained. A growing body of research indicates that unconditional cash transfers may be one way to reduce homelessness. Cash transfers have been shown to support the individuals to transition into stable housing, while reducing reliance on social services (Dwyer et al., 2023; Hamilton et al., 2025). Additional evidence suggests that unconditional cash transfers lead to improvements in mental health (Couloute et al., 2025; Smith-Carrier & Power, 2025), as well as reduction in some measures of criminality (Rizvi et al., 2024; Westbrook et al., 2024). However, existing research on cash transfers has only focused on cities or high-density urban centers. To our knowledge, no research has explored the impact of unconditional cash transfers on homelessness in rural areas in Canada or the US.
The current study examines the impact of unconditional cash transfers on homelessness in a rural Canadian context, using qualitative thematic analysis of a small cash transfer program called Project Q (N=5 participants) in Quesnel, British Columbia. Drawing on interviews with the participants and the program manager of Project Q, we provide insight into how participants’ lives changed following the receipt of the cash transfers, including spending, housing, and other outcomes.
Methods
Participants
Quesnel is a small city in the central interior of British Columbia. As of 2020, Quesnel’s census agglomeration population was 23,113 with a population density of 1.1 per square kilometer (Statistics Canada, 2023b). Although the City of Quesnel is not rural by the Canadian census definition, we have chosen to examine homelessness in Quesnel through the lens of rural homelessness given its city population (N=9,889 as of 2021), population density, and isolation from neighboring urban centers of Prince George (122 km) and Williams Lake (118 km) (Statistics Canada, 2022).
Project Q was a pilot homelessness prevention program administered by the Quesnel Shelter and Support Society (QSSS) that delivered unconditional cash transfers of CAD $4,000 to each of the five individuals who were experiencing homelessness or were at risk of homelessness in Quesnel, BC. QSSS is a non-profit organization which provides minimal barrier resources for people at risk of or experiencing homelessness. Their services include a transitional housing program, an emergency shelter program, and a homelessness prevention program.
Participants were referred to QSSS by partner organizations in Quesnel, and they were screened and interviewed by QSSS to determine their eligibility based on the following criteria: age 19 years or older; either a) currently homeless for less than two years, b) in an existing unstable housing situation (e.g., couch surfing), or c) at high and imminent risk of homelessness; have non-severe levels of substance use on the Drug Abuse Screening Test-10 (DAST-10; Staley & El-Guebaly, 1990) scale (excluded if score ≥ 6); have non-severe levels of alcohol use on the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT; Saunders et al., 1993) scale (excluded if score ≥ 20); have non-severe mental health symptoms on the Colorado Symptom Index (CSI; Shern et al., 1994) scale (excluded if “Experiencing suicidal or homicidal ideation every day or having visual or auditory hallucinations more than once a month”); not be related to the people who referred them.
These criteria were chosen to balance need with potential risks to participants. QSSS was responsible for the administration of Project Q and distributing all cash transfers. Further information regarding the administration of Project Q is in the Supplemental Materials (see SI.1).
In 2024, five eligible participants were successfully enrolled and received cash transfers in installments of $1,000 per month over four months (average age was 61.3 years, all participants were Caucasian). At enrollment, two participants were provisionally accommodated, and three were at risk of homelessness. We did not collect further demographic information for privacy reasons discussed in the introduction.
Participant Interviews and Data Collection
After the cash transfers over four months, we made attempts to contact all recipients of the cash transfers. Three of the five were available for interview. Of the remaining two participants, one had moved out of town, and the other did not answer requests for interviews due to poor health. All participants did maintain contact with QSSS during their enrollment in Project Q. Information on the outcomes of all participants, including the two participants who were unavailable for interview, was supplemented by an interview with the manager of Project Q. The interviews were all conducted within six months of the final cash transfer.
Interviews with participants began with demographic information and a residential TLFB (Tsemberis et al., 2006). Then, participants answered questions about their experiences before, during, and after the transfers, followed by overall reflections. The interview with the manager began with various questions about their experience managing the project followed by summaries of the impacts on each participant, and suggestions for future improvement.
The final dataset contained three interviews with the three participants and an interview with the Project Q manager (see interview guide and templates in SI.2 and SI.3). All interviews were semi-structured, in person, and approximately forty minutes each.
This study received ethics approval from the University of British Columbia Behavioural Research Ethics Board (H25-01937). All participants provided informed consent prior to participation.
Qualitative Analysis
We analyzed the dataset using a qualitative thematic analysis consistent with Naeem et al. (2023). The first two authors independently read through the interview transcripts and then combed through the transcripts to identify and code recurring concepts using the software NVivo version 15.3.0. The research team then met to consolidate the concepts into codes. We then condensed the list of codes into themes (see SI.4).
Results
In this section, we present the primary impacts of the cash transfers from the major themes from interview transcripts. For ease of discussion and to protect the participants’ privacy, the participants have been assigned gender-neutral, pseudo names. The project manager, Rhonda, consented to use her real name for the study and the paper. We interviewed Sam, Alex, and Jordan. Rhonda provided information regarding River and Taylor.
Immediate Reactions and Expenditures
Following their enrollment in Project Q, participants felt extremely grateful and somewhat shocked. Rhonda, noted that once participants realized that they would be receiving this money, “They cried. A lot cried… They were very happy.” One participant, Jordan, explained that “people in my past never gave me a break, right? [Rhonda] gave me that break. Nobody's ever tried to help me out in that way in my entire life.” Another participant, Alex, expressed a similar sentiment, noting that “I remember a sigh of relief… I couldn't believe that somebody actually cares.”
All participants spent money to address their immediate needs, including establishing or maintaining housing, purchasing food, paying bills, or settling debts. Both Sam and Jordan used their money to pay off debt or bills, move into an apartment, and buy food. Jordan also used the money to furnish their apartment with items such as a TV and cooking equipment. Alex used the money to pay their upcoming rent, electricity, and insurance bills. River used their money to move from a cabin to a motel near Quesnel’s local hospital to receive treatment for a serious illness.
“I’ll tell you exactly what I spent it on: On TELUS, on Hydro, my insurance on my car, my payment, and it goes on. And then once I came afloat, the following month helped me with the rent.” - Alex
“…after I got this place, to use the rest to pay off my Christmas debt. So that was really quite a nice pick-me-up.” - Sam
“I had a lot of important things to spend my money on, like my bills and my food and my clothes.” - Jordan
Housing
Immediately before receiving the cash transfers, two participants were provisionally accommodated, and three were at risk of homelessness. The participants indicated that poverty was the main driver of their housing instability. In some cases, recent shocks exacerbated their housing instability and pushed them to homelessness or on the verge of it. After the loss of their long-term partner, Alex began to struggle to meet their housing needs on a single pension. Sam was renting under the table; however, they were forced to leave due to issues with gas leaks, privacy, and personal safety concerns. Following a difficult divorce, Taylor was living in a small trailer with no heating, while taking care of their mother.
The cash transfers increased participants’ housing stability through multiple pathways including temporary rent relief and improved housing conditions. When participants moved, they entered higher-quality housing; in cases where participants did not move, their housing needs were temporarily stabilized through the cash transfer. Sam and Jordan were able to move into their own apartments, while Alex was able to retain their apartment, and Taylor was able to purchase heating for their trailer. By the end of Project Q, four out of the five participants were housed.
“Before I got the grant, [I] was pretty stressed. It was after Christmas. Sure. And I was also living at a friend’s house and didn’t know where I was going to live. All my stuff was in storage and some of it was left behind.” - Sam
“[Project Q] prevented me from ending up on the street […] I was on the cuff of putting my furniture in storage, and I was going to live in the car.” - Alex
“[Taylor] was in the middle of a divorce. [They] had no food, no propane, 40 below. [The cash] assisted [them] with getting heat for [their] place so [they] wouldn’t freeze to death”. - Rhonda (Project Q Manager)
Social Service Use
Most participants we interviewed had previous or ongoing experiences with different kinds of social services, including homeless shelters, food banks, and community-based support centers. Participants expressed a variety of sentiments towards these services, ranging from positive interactions to negative emotions involving feeling stigmatized and shamed.
“It was nice, it helped me out in my food bill anyway.” - Jordan
“It’s really quite embarrassing to get out there on those [Food Bank] lines. You feel like you’re being looked down upon or that you’re less in society.” - Sam
Every participant indicated that following their enrollment in Project Q, QSSS had also connected them to provincial rental subsidy programs, of which, many participants were unaware (e.g., Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters; SAFER). Alex, who is now using SAFER to stabilize their rent, said “I didn't know about SAFER.”
The impacts of the unconditional cash transfers on in-kind supports (e.g., food banks) were mixed. Alex indicated that prior to the cash transfer, they “came close” to using services like shelters and food banks. Sam indicated that their service use “probably [stayed] the same” after receiving the cash. Jordan expressed similar sentiments, noting ongoing use of food banks throughout the project.
Poverty
All participants described being thrust into poverty by some form of crisis. At one point in their lives, each participant was stably employed. However, various factors ranging from mental illness to family matters led to deterioration of that stability. Multiple participants indicated that their disabilities prevented them from regaining employment.
“I was 39 years old and my symptoms came on. There's nothing you can do about it. It's just a fluke of nature. Usually, you get it in your teens, right? [….] I tried to work after I got sick. I only worked for three or four weeks at [redacted] here in town.” - Sam
“The agreement that my wife and I had, she bought the car. She made payments on the car. I paid the rent, and then we both paid the utilities. It's a perfect arrangement. Perfect. And we did some traveling and a couple of seniors, you know. And she passed […] I needed help.” - Alex
“River was diagnosed with cancer. There were actually referred to… by our executive director, [she] approached me and said, have you talked to River? They’re really not [doing] good.” - Rhonda (Project Q Manager)
“[Taylor was] in the middle of a traumatic divorce, where all their items were named frozen, so they had no access to anything.” - Rhonda (Project Q Manager)
The financial situation of each participant was dire before receiving the cash transfers. Several participants were of retirement age, and in receipt of pensions. Others were in receipt of government payments for disabilities. Nevertheless, all participants we interviewed discussed challenges making ends meet. Multiple participants described being in debt and without savings. Jordan was “Flat-ass broke.” Alex said “It was an untenable situation. I was on the verge of a breakdown.” Naturally, participants managed poverty in unique ways. For example, Alex gave up their car and would “use the pawn shop to make my income a little level.”
“People don't understand that the rents have increased, incomes have not increased, [and] pensions have not increased. A typical person or PWD (persons with disability) gets around $1,500 a month. When your rent is $1,300, and then on top of that you have to pay hydro, food, phone, gas, you have children – how do you pay rent? You can't.” - Rhonda (Project Q Manager)
Participants explained that Project Q at least partially alleviated their poverty, primarily mediated by short-term financial improvements and some long-term increases in their stability. The temporary relief provided by the cash transfers helped participants stabilize their financial situation and housing, to varying degrees. All participants used their money to pay off bills, debts, or both. Jordan used their remaining money to start and build their first ever savings account. Following the transfers, one participant gained part-time employment, though this was not clearly mediated by the transfers. Sam, however, noted that their financial situation following the transfers was worse than before, because of increased rent costs. To manage this new burden, they quit smoking after 12 years.
Mental and Physical Health
Participants disclosed several ongoing mental health concerns that impacted their life prior to the cash transfer. These included depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and dementia. One participant discussed feeling suicidal prior to the receipt of the cash transfers.
The cash transfers had limited impact on chronic mental health struggles. However, all participants expressed acute relief, increased life satisfaction and decreased feelings of stress or emotional turmoil while they were receiving the money. Although some improvements in mental health persisted beyond Project Q, these were primarily tied to improvements in other avenues of life which may have been made possible by the cash transfers.
“The direct effects and long-term effects is housing [and] mental health. The mental health for [Sam] has improved drastically because they’re now in a safer environment surrounded by more positivity. Same with [Alex], [they’re] actually in a better place now too […] it just gave that time to grieve.” - Rhonda (Project Q Manager)
With respect to physical health, participants noted both chronic issues and acute challenges. Participants all noted varying degrees of food insecurity with poverty as a primary driver. For example, Sam revealed “without [food banks] I’d be starving.”
Project Q improved the short-term health of participants, with unclear long-term effects. All participants used the money to buy food. For some participants, the cash transfers affected health indirectly through improved housing conditions.
“There was one gentleman who actually had lost 25 pounds in three or four months. He couldn't afford food until his pension kicked in. So, this actually helped until his pension kicked in.” - Rhonda (Project Q Manager)
“I've lost 15 pounds […] I got a dance floor, so I'm in way better shape than what I was in physically and mentally.” - Sam (49 years)
Social Connection and Quality of Life
Before the cash transfers, the participants described their quality of life as poor, due to several factors such as loneliness and a sense of deprivation from non-essential goods. Some participants described experiencing some form of social isolation, and they all lived alone. In some cases, this loneliness was due to divorce, death, or estrangement. The loss of social networks often coincided with the crisis triggers that spiraled into poverty. Prior to the cash transfers, participants coped with this loss of social connection through several means. For example, one participant recalled resorting to crime, preferring the social connections available once institutionalized to the loneliness of daily life. Beyond direct social ties, some participants indicated feeling disconnected from society due to stigma.
“…every time I did a break and enter, I always didn't wear gloves. I always left my prints. It helped me out with my isolation every time I went back into prison.” - Jordan (63 years)
“[Taylor] was suffering a lot of emotional depression, just sadness overall, everything. [They’re] doing a lot better now from what I hear.” - Rhonda (Project Q Manager)
The cash transfers had mixed effects on participants' feelings of social connection. One participant noted that they ended a long-term friendship following their enrollment in Project Q. However, every participant gained at least one social connection to QSSS. The referral process connected at risk individuals to Rhonda, who the participants all noted as incredibly kind and helpful. Alex noted, “She’s a great person. She’s really wonderful.”
Following the cash transfers, all the participants described some quality-of-life improvements. Given the unconditional transfers, they had room to spend money on lifestyle goods such as clothing, dinners, and books. Though this comprised a fraction of the total spending, participants still described the effect as meaningful. Jordan, who used part of their money to buy a TV and a CD player, noted “the way I used to live prior to this. I had a pretty crappy life.” With the increased space in their new housing, Sam was able to return to old hobbies, including dancing, sewing and writing.
“Like I used to, I grew up sewing. So I grew up doing journals and writing. So it got me back into stuff I used to do.” - Sam (49 years)
“[Jordan] never had TV or cable or phone. They would ride the bus for hours for entertainment. That was the only socialization they had. Now [they watch] sports net.” - Rhonda (Project Q Manager)
Additional Themes
Beyond the impacts of the cash transfers, we identified two further themes of interest. These themes emerged from the interviews and remained largely unchanged by Project Q.
Self-Perceptions
All participants described well-defined, robust senses of self, particularly in feelings of personal responsibility. Although all participants felt some sense of misfortune, they also felt an internal sense of responsibility for adaptively coping. This sense of responsibility was highlighted multiple times through the participants' self-descriptions, which centered around strong senses of independence and accountability. Sam said, “I feel we make our own choices. We're responsible for our life as much as we can be, right?” At times, these self-descriptions manifested as guilt for not working or for accepting help through Project Q or other social services.
Homelessness policy and its limitations Participants' experiences with welfare programs demonstrate its importance and occasional insufficiencies. Participants relied on welfare and explained how they often made decisions to avoid losing their benefits. For example, though Alex reconnected with their partner, they lived together as “roommates” rather than re-marrying, “because our pensions would be cut right back.” These decisions were noted as a significant source of stress for some participants. Sam noted, “I would be extremely stressed out. I don't want to lose my CPP.” As a welfare program, participants appreciated Project Q relative to previous experiences because of an increased payout, unconditionality, and ease of access.
Moreover, Rhonda noted QSSS’s trouble dealing with homelessness due to limitations of welfare, a harsh rural environment, and a lack of crisis funding. The existing programs for homelessness prevention are low budget and somewhat limited: “We have multiple subsidy programs. It's not enough.”
General Discussion
Project Q was a pilot program in Quesnel, BC that delivered unconditional cash transfers to five individuals who were either homeless or at risk of homelessness. This paper examined the overall outcomes of the program using a qualitative thematic analysis of interview data from three participants and the project manager. Overall, Project Q provided immediate short-term improvements to participants’ housing, financial stability, health, and quality of life. However, long-term effects of these transfers remain unclear due to the project's time limit. Participants spent their money addressing basic needs such as rent, bills, debt, and food, with some additional spending on non-essential goods
The participants spent their money to solve their most immediate problems. This finding is consistent with previous North American studies of unconditional cash transfers, that find increases in spending on rent, food, and transportation, with little to no impact on purchasing of temptation goods such as drugs and alcohol (Dwyer et al., 2023; Open Research, 2024; Yoo et al., 2022). These results challenge stigmatizing narratives of homeless individuals as “lazy” or “financially irresponsible”. In a report on Ontario welfare fraud, Mosher and Hermer (2005, p.6, p.121) note that rates of fraud are exceptionally low, and that welfare recipients often experience “not only material destitution, but fear, shame, humiliation and a profound sense that they are 'others'; not full citizens, but outsiders”. In this study, some participants felt guilty for taking help from Project Q, while others noted the internal feelings of stigma they have for accessing services such as food banks. Project Q participants were not looking for handouts; rather, their interviews demonstrate their desire to work, take responsibility, and live independently. This suggests that future policies to address poverty may be improved by supporting recipients’ own understanding of their needs.
Participants’ stories exemplify the many paths that lead to poverty and homelessness. All participants we interviewed discussed a proud history of employment, some were retired and receiving a pension, and others looked after family members and children. A common thread between all participants, however, was crisis preceding their experience of homelessness. These crises echo the findings of a recent report from Statistics Canada (2023a), which points to financial difficulties, relationship issues (e.g., divorce, fleeing abuse), and health challenges as leading causes of homelessness. Moreover, poverty may predispose individuals to crises and exacerbate their effects. Thus, targeting and preventing these tipping points may prevent spirals into poverty. By complementing the population-level data with lived experiences, our findings underscore how homelessness can encroach upon people across myriad unfortunate circumstances.
Interviews with the recipients of cash transfers illustrate the connection between material conditions and numerous aspects of physical and mental health. Previous studies have demonstrated the link between housing and improved health (Rao & Brandeau, 2025; Richard et al., 2024a; Richard et al., 2024b). Throughout Project Q, participants were able to use the cash to stabilize or improve their housing conditions, allowing them to purchase heating for harsh winter conditions, access nearby medical treatments, and even reconnect with old hobbies. These findings illustrate the potential of unconditional cash transfers to have cascading effects on recipients’ lives from housing stability to health improvements. Moreover, the unconditionality and size of the transfers relative to existing supports are an important facet of Project Q. Participants noted with Project Q “you had a little bit of freedom, which was nice.” Further, in BC, receiving benefits can still leave you in “deep poverty” (Laidley & Oliveira, 2025). During Project Q, the cash transfers combined with pre-existing income assistance pushed participants above the poverty line.
Project Q served as a bridge to existing rental subsidy programs. The resulting impacts on service use mediated by the cash transfers indicate that participants were not enrolled in or even aware of all the services they were eligible for. This result is corroborated by BC Housing’s 2024 Report, which found that word of mouth was the primary way people became aware of these programs (BC Housing, 2024). Regarding SAFER, the report notes that 55% of potentially eligible senior households, or “30,470 households with housing unaffordability challenges without support. This may be because they are unaware of the program” (BC Housing, 2024, p.40)1. This bridging effect represents an important long-term benefit of Project Q and highlights the importance of connecting at-risk individuals to social supports.
Rural settings are an overlooked target for homelessness prevention, which present distinct challenges from those encountered in urban contexts. Moving north away from major cities, colder weather makes housing more vital, and a lack thereof more deadly. Rhonda, manager of project Q, explained that “Our programs run a lot differently because of the environment. We had people freeze to death this year.” Additionally, relative to urban environments, poverty is especially high while the uptake of welfare programs is especially low (Halseth & Ryser, 2010). Further, northern Canada faces a severe doctor shortage, with fewer doctors and specialists per capita than in urban environments (Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2024). QSSS explains that the doctor shortage makes it harder to receive diagnoses required to be designated disabled for welfare purposes. Further, the population and infrastructure density are lower, which partially explains why hidden homelessness is higher in the north (Taylor, 2018). Thus, in rural settings at-risk individuals are less likely to receive help and more likely to fall through the cracks once they stumble, which highlights the need for homelessness prevention programs akin to Project Q. Our interviews demonstrate how Project Q helped address some of the challenges, allowing participants to access housing through cash transfers, move closer to sites providing essential medical care, and connect to additional financial resources beyond the cash transfer (e.g., SAFER).
Limitations & Future Research
This qualitative study is limited primarily by its cash transfer size, duration, and the small number of participants. We were unable to get in touch with two of the five participants of Project Q. This enhances the risk that participants who chose to be interviewed self-selected based on positive experiences with the project. To mitigate this risk, we relied on QSSS’ documentation of participants throughout the project and an interview with the project manager to supplement our findings. Moreover, the qualitative nature of the study does not allow for statistical testing of the impact of unconditional cash transfers on recipients. These limitations, as well as the positive outcomes of Project Q, leave room for future research examining the long-term impacts of unconditional cash transfers in rural settings, and how these compare to existing homelessness prevention policies. Despite the limitations, some strengths of the project include participant referrals which connected at-risk individuals to community groups, unconditionality of the cash transfers which provided financial freedom to participants, and the ease of accessing and enrolling in the program.
Project Q can be significantly improved in several ways in future iterations. Based on feedback from the participants and QSSS, the cash transfer amounts can be more flexible (e.g., instead of a fixed monthly $1,000 they might receive $500 in one month and $1,500 next month), such that the funds can be used to match more specific or short-term needs. Further, QSSS noted that, to mitigate any risk of misuse, funds should be more strictly managed and held by the agency. Future iterations can examine how to keep the funds more focused while still providing room for unconditionality (e.g., by providing money directly to address a short-term need, with a fixed additional amount meant to be freely used).
Conclusion
This study provides initial qualitative evidence on the outcomes of unconditional cash transfers in rural settings. Our interviews provide insights on how the cash is spent and how participants’ livelihoods changed throughout Project Q. In sum, our findings combat stigmatizing narratives about people experiencing homelessness and inform future research and policy interventions targeting rural homelessness.
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank Rhonda Mercer, Tammy Janzen, and others at QSSS for their support in administrating the project and data collection. We would like to additionally thank QSSS for the work they do providing care in Quesnel.
Conflicts of Interest
The first author of the paper provided funding of the cash transfers and conducted the interviews with participants. This conflict of interest was disclosed to the UBC ethics board. To mitigate this conflict, the Principal Investigator (PI, last author) independently examined the study protocol and invited the second author to conduct data analyses separately from the first author. The first two authors and the PI had to agree on the codes and themes before writing up the manuscript. The co-investigator (second last author) independently reviewed and edited the manuscript.
BC housing adds “It may also be due to barriers applying or are ineligibility because they are living in non-market housing, receiving a non-stackable benefit, or other reasons” (typo theirs).
good post