Oregon’s $1,000 Experiment With Homeless Youth
Oregon ran a two-year pilot program (Direct Cash Transfers Plus - DCT+), that gave 120 homeless youth ages 18 to 24, $1,000 a month with no spending rules attached.
The result? By the end of the program, 94% reported they were housed.
The program ran from February 2023 to January 2025 in three counties. Participants also met regularly with case managers and had access to a one-time $3,000 fund for school, transportation, savings, or other needs.
Many participants said they improved basic money skills like budgeting and building credit. Some used the money to leave unsafe living situations. Nearly half had experience in foster care or the justice system. Many had faced violence or family breakdown.
The idea was simple. Cover the real cost of shared housing for two years. Pair it with support. Give young people room to stabilize before they fall into long-term chronic homelessness.
How This Is Different From Universal Basic Income
This is not broad Universal Basic Income.
It does not go to everyone. It targets a very specific, high-risk age group: 18 to 24 year olds experiencing homelessness.
It is time-limited. Two years, not permanent.
It is paired with case management and support services.
The goal is prevention. Stop young people from entering lifelong chronic homelessness before it starts.
What This Could Mean for British Columbia
B.C. faces rising youth homelessness, especially in cities like Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna and Kamloops.
A targeted cash program at the provincial level could focus on youth aging out of foster care, young parents, or those leaving unsafe homes. That is often where the pipeline into chronic homelessness begins.
At the city level, a place like Kelowna could pilot a small, focused cohort. Fifty to one hundred high-risk youth. Pair direct monthly cash with housing support and financial coaching.
The math may be uncomfortable at first. But so is the long-term cost of emergency shelters, policing, ER visits and long-term social assistance.
The key insight from Oregon is this: stability takes time. Short bursts of help are not enough. Two years of steady support appears to move the needle.
Instead of trying to fix chronic homelessness at age 40, the program asks a simpler question: what if we stopped it at age 20?