According to the 2023 report conducted by the Homelessness Services Association of B.C, 4,821 individuals were identified as homeless in 2023, up 32% from 2020’s count of 3,634.

Vancouver itself, the eighth-largest city in the country, has a population of 662,248, and the wider Greater Vancouver Area is the third largest metro area in Canada, with a population of 2,642,845.

The researchers picked 115 participants who had been homeless for at least six months, aged 19 to 64, and formed two groups. A group of 50 randomly selected individuals received the money.

One participant, Ray, described that he lost his home and job within the space of a week and cited the funds from the New Leaf Project as critical in stabilizing his situation. He explained that he hoped to pursue frontline work with abuse and addiction.

Since receiving the funds, he has begun computer training. “I kind of want to give back where I’ve come from,” Ray explained, “I might one day be that important person that has a powerful voice… a seed can grow into an oak tree.”

The New Leaf Project’s objective was to ease the pressures of homelessness through increasing financial stability, however the project’s exclusion of those with addiction or mental health issues has raised questions about the ethics and moral implications of this approach.

The results of the project surpassed the expectations of CEO Claire Williams: “We saw that people increased their spending on food, on clothing, on rent, so people are using that money to help them meet their basic needs…We saw that within the first month, 60% of the cash participants were food-secure.”