Welfare programs have been among the biggest targets of budget cuts in the last few years, as states look to save money any way they can. But research suggests that everyone ends up paying for poverty, hunger and homelessness, especially when left alone.
The latest evidence to support this idea comes by way of Los Angeles County, where researchers just finished an evaluation of Project 50, a years-long initiative to house members of L.A.’s chronic homeless population.
The program cost $3.045 million to implement, according to the Los Angeles Times, but resulted in $3.284 million in savings by means of lowering incarceration and medical costs for the people who participated. That’s a net gain of $238,700, according to the LAT. Plus, 94 formerly homeless people, three-quarters of all those who participated, now have a place to live.
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