California researchers gave homeless people $750 a month. Here’s what they found

 California researchers gave homeless people $750 a month. Here’s what they found

People who received the money also reported that they were closer to being able to afford all of their basic needs compared with people who did not receive the funds. More than a third of the money was spent on food, according to self-reported budgets given to researchers. Housing accounted for about 20% of the spending, followed by transportation at 13%, clothing at 12% and health care at 6%. About 14% was categorized as “other,” a category that included the 2% of funds that were spent on alcohol, drugs and cigarettes.

To Kevin Adler, the founder of Miracle Messages, the San Francisco nonprofit that helped distribute the funds, the findings were not surprising.

“People used the money better than we could have used it for them,” he said. “When we trust people, they can resolve their issues. They know what they need.”