New York City announced plan for a contentious pilot program that will give away monthly cash payments of $1,250 to homeless people.

Dished out in incremental payments or upfront (whichever the recipient prefers) as many as 40 homeless people between 18 and 24 for two years will receive the cash no strings attached. 

Costing the city $2.5million to be and set to be rolled out this fall, organisers have not specified how they will pick the participants or whether there are eligibility requirements.  

Point Source Youth’s website calls it “the first study of the effectiveness of direct cash assistance to young people, 18-24, with optional supportive services to help advance the goal of ending youth homelessness.”

Larry Cohen, co-founder and executive director of Point Source Youth said, “A solution that works to end youth homelessness provides young people experiencing homelessness, especially historically marginalized queer, trans, Black, indigenous, youth of color, directly and unconditionally, the totality of resources they need.”

According to Point Source Youth, about 4,500 young people experience homelessness in NYC on any given night with the number of young people living with their parents recently reached a majority for the first time since the Great Depression.

The move closely follows the Denver Basic Income Project, another project involving homeless populations launched in April. The Denver based programme started with a $5.5million budget funded entirely through private donations.