Beyond the Check: Why financial assistance alone is not always enough

Picture this: A family scraping by on minimum wage, their rent consuming nearly every dollar they earn. A single missed paycheck pushes them to the brink of eviction. A one-time check buys them a few more months—but what happens when the money runs out?

Two Studies, Two Stories

In the fight against homelessness, financial assistance is often seen as the first line of defense—helping people catch up on rent, avoid eviction, and stay housed. But new research shows that financial aid alone isn’t enough. To create lasting housing stability, rental subsidies must be paired with supportive services like job placement, legal aid, and financial coaching.

At Bay Area Community Services (BACS), we believe in doing whatever it takes to solve homelessness. That’s why we led two groundbreaking evaluations with prestigious research institutes—one with UCSF’s Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, and another with Stanford’s Changing Cities Lab and the Housing Initiative at Penn. The results paint a stark contrast between different approaches to homelessness prevention, and how taxpayers can get the most bang for their buck in solving homelessness and making their neighborhoods healthier.

When a Subsidy Just Buys Time

The UCSF study examined a shallow subsidy program in Oakland that provided up to $800 a month for 18 months. The goal? To ease rent burdens for low-income tenants. The result? While 83% of participants remained housed, their rent burdens remained high, food insecurity worsened, and long-term stability remained elusive.

"Without support like financial planning, employment training, or even housemate matching, subsidies simply delayed—but didn’t solve—housing precarity," said Jamie Almanza, CEO of BACS. "This is not the lasting solution our community deserves."

A Better Way: Prevention That Works

In contrast, the separate evaluation of the Keep People Housed program—funded by the City of Oakland, All Home, Kaiser, and Anonymous Donors evaluated by Stanford and UPenn—revealed a far more effective approach. This model paired financial assistance with wraparound services:

• Case management to help people plan for long-term stability.

• Legal support to fight unjust evictions and renegotiate leases.

• Employment services to help people increase their incomes.

• Housing navigation to find sustainable options or match people with housemates.

  
  

The impact was clear: 85% of survey respondents in this program said they would have lost their housing without this assistance. Unlike the shallow subsidy model, this program recognized that financial strain is rarely the only barrier to stability.

"Because Oakland invested in homelessness prevention, Alameda County saw its first decrease in homelessness in over a decade. Where Oakland goes, the rest of the region follows," said Juma Crawford from the Oakland Fund for Public Innovation.

What Policymakers and Funders Must Do Next

The UCSF evaluation highlights a critical flaw in many housing programs: funding short-term rental relief without addressing the root causes of instability. If we fail to integrate support services, we will continue to see only temporary improvements rather than lasting change.

“A short-term subsidy can be a lifeline, but lifelines fray when people remain one emergency away from losing their home,” said Dr. Margot Kushel, Director of the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative. “Our research shows that without the right supports, like employment assistance, benefits navigation, and tenant protections, financial aid alone cannot ensure long-term housing stability. Research on supports the need for both flexible funds paired with key services and protections to prevent homelessness.”

As we look ahead, cities, counties, and funders must prioritize:

• Integrated Supportive Services: Financial aid must go hand in hand with workforce development, legal aid, and tenant protections.

• Flexible, Targeted Assistance: Programs should adapt to people’s actual needs—whether that’s downsizing, negotiating lower rent, or securing better employment.

• Stronger Public-Private Partnerships: Governments and philanthropy must invest in proven prevention strategies, not just rental relief.

  
  

The US Government Accountability office estimates that for every $100 increase in the average rent, you can expect a 9% increase in homelessness. Meanwhile, every person who falls into chronic homelessness costs taxpayers $60,000 to $100,000 a year in emergency services.

“The assistance made it easier for us to breathe and focus. With the immediate threat of eviction solved and support for a few months, my fiancé was able to get a better paying job. Now, his hard work does more than barely cover rent. We don’t have to hustle to pay utilities or eat. A lot has changed.” – Mary, a Keep People Housed client

An Open Invitation to Funders: Let’s Build Futures, Not Just Buy Time

Homelessness prevention isn’t just about keeping people housed for another month—it’s about breaking the cycle of instability. This is why public-private collaboration is key. The Keep People Housed program was made possible by a coalition of funders, including the City of Oakland, Kaiser, All Home, and Anonymous Donors. Meanwhile, Google played a pivotal role in funding the shallow subsidy program, which gave us crucial insights into what works—and what doesn’t.

If we want real results, we need to stop asking "How much money does someone need to stay housed?" and start asking "What does this person need to become stable?" Now, as we refine our approach, we invite all our partners—past, present, and future—to be part of the next generation of prevention strategies. We have the data. We know what works.

The question is: Will we invest in real solutions, or will we keep buying time?

Reports:

• Evaluating Keep People housed: Oakland's Targeted Homelessness Prevention Program

• Oakland Shallow Subsidy Evaluation Final Report

Oakland Shallow Subsidy Evaluation Final Report.pdf

Download PDF • 500KB

Authors: Nora Daly, Chief Development Officer, and Logan McDonnell, Regional Vice President

Organization: Bay Area Community Services (BACS)

Email: ndaly@bayareacs.org and lmcdonnell@bayareacs.org

Phone: 510-394-3519 and 510-394-5449

City/State: Oakland, California

Short bio: Nora Daly and Logan McDonnell work for BACS, a local non-profit focused on ending homelessness and expanding access to behavioral health services.

Required Disclosures: n/a