Episode 105: Foundations for Social Change

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Foundations for Social Change’s New Leaf Project and the Myths vs Facts of Homelessness

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"There's still a lot of public resistance to the idea of giving people in homelessness cash, because, the public don't trust people in poverty or people in homelessness, I think that has to be corrected and addressed" - Dr. Jiaying Zhao

One of the topics we have focused on through our special Covid-19 series are organizations and governments that are experimenting with providing cash transfers to un-housed community members. We are finishing up our special series on Covid-19’s impact on our nonprofits, small businesses, and local governments with this very informative and insightful interview with Foundations for Social Change. Foundations for Social Change were the first organization in North America to develop a research project to study the impact on the lives of our un-housed neighbors through providing cash transfers to un-housed community members.

In this episode we feature the voices of the Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in the Department of Psychology Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at the University of British Columbia Dr. Jiaying Zhao, along with the Director of the New Leaf Project Heather Hay and the LEAP Co-Chair and Peer Coordinator Ray Bonnetrouge.

Dr. Jiaying Zhao - Principal Investigator & Professor, UBC

Dr. Jiaying Zhao is a Canada Research Chair and Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at the University of British Columbia. She uses psychological principles to design behavioral solutions to address financial and environmental sustainability challenges. Her paper “Poverty Impedes Cognitive Function”, published along with several colleagues in Science, drew significant attention from such media outlets at the New York Times, Associated Press, Washington Post, NBC, and TIME magazine.

Dr. Zhao earned her PhD from Princeton University in Cognitive Psychology and has a master’s in Cognitive Psychology (Princeton) and a master’s in Cognitive Science (University College Dublin). She is the current Canada Research Chair in Behavioral Sustainability and is a Researcher with the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability.

In 2015, she received the BX Award for Outstanding Research which recognizes outstanding research in the behavioral sciences and policy combining originality, rigor, a demonstrated or potential practical application, and the potential for lasting impact.

Most recently, Dr. Zhao has received research grants in the areas of climate change, sustainability in US forestry, and COVID-19. Dr. Zhao led the research portion of the New Leaf Project. She became interested in studying how direct cash transfers can contribute to individual development in people experiencing homelessness in developed countries and recognized the high likelihood of success from this innovative approach.

Heather Hay - Director, New Leaf Project

Heather Hay, RN, M.A., MSC (A) is a healthcare executive with extensive senior leadership experience across the health care system in Canada. She has vast experience in innovative program planning, evaluation, and development. With a passion for working with marginalized client populations and adapting systems to meet their needs, Heather led the development of ground-breaking harm reduction programs including North America’s first Supervised Injection Site, Canada’s only Community Court, and British Columbia’s first Drug Treatment Court. As part of the Olympic legacy projects, she developed a strategy to support complex homeless mental health and addiction clients and implemented a forward-thinking 100-bed treatment centre (Burnaby Centre for Mental Health and Addiction) and an 80-bed facility at the Crossing at Keremeos, a long-term treatment program, for youth.

Heather is the recipient of the National Deloitte Public Service Award and twice awarded the Premier’s Public Service award for Innovation and Collaboration. She has been recognized by the BC Business Association and is the recipient of Innovator of the Year Award. She is an experienced consultant who has provided services to a variety of clients both nationally and internationally and is a sought-after guest speaker. Heather has a strong interest in the Arts and is currently enrolled at SFU in the liberal studies program. She holds a Master of Science (Applied) from Montreal’s McGill University and a Master’s in Leadership from Royal Roads University in British Columbia.

Ray Bonnetrouge - Ambassador Co-Chair & Peer Coordinator

Ray is a previous recipient of the cash transfer from the New Leaf pilot project. When Ray got his cash transfer from the New Leaf project, he invested in things that gave him stability. With the help of a friend he found housing, and started taking courses that would advance his career, one that he would feel proud of and would help build a more stable life where he could provide more for his son. Having finished school and received his Community Support Worker certificate, Ray is confident about his future. He is now the co-chair of FSC’s Lived Experience Advisory Panel, a group made up of participants and leaders from the New Leaf pilot project, and peer coordinator of FSC’s HAW project, playing a central role in gathering stories from the community and elevating the voice of lived experience.

Foundations for Social Change

Foundations for Social Change is a Vancouver-based charitable organization that develops innovative programs helping vulnerable populations in our communities. We seek solutions to ongoing social issues, such as homelessness, with a bold entrepreneurial mindset using data and evidence to evaluate our work and measure impact. Bound by our shared humanity, we stand for an inclusive society where everyone has the opportunity to achieve their full potential. We believe that economic inclusion is critical to being able to participate in society and that no one should be left behind. This requires disrupting the status quo, and compels us to think radically and test innovative solutions that have not been tried before.

About The New Leaf Project -In partnership with the University of British Columbia, Foundations for Social Change launched the world’s first direct cash transfer program to empower people to move beyond homelessness in Canada.

The Research- In spring 2018, Foundations for Social Change launched our Vancouver pilot project to rigorously evaluate the impact of our approach to direct cash transfers to recently homeless individuals. We conducted the project as a Randomized Controlled Trial, which is the gold standard of scientific research and allows us to compare our supports to business as usual. Half of the eligible participants were randomly selected to receive a one-time cash transfer of $7,500. Cash transfers were then deposited into participants’ bank accounts in one lump sum. We then followed the 115 New Leaf project participants for one year.

While many would balk at the thought of disbursing large sums of cash to people living in homelessness, our approach was based upon scientific evidence and our bold action has paid off. By preventing people from becoming entrenched as homeless, NLP helps individuals to maintain dignity and regain hope. At the same time, community resources can be spent in other urgent areas. Cash transfers provide choice, control and purchasing power at a critical time in people’s lives. This is not merely a gesture of help, it is a signal that society believes in them. Project participants have seen measurable improvements in their lives after receiving the cash transfer and we are passionate about expanding our work. Read the Impact Report from the Initial Pilot Project

Donation/Volunteer

+ Find out more about how to support the Foundations for Social Change New Leaf Expansion Project

+ Make a Donation to Foundations for Social Change to support their direct cash transfers to un-housed community members for the Expansion Project

+ Get engaged as a volunteer to support Foundations for Social Change New Leaf Expansion Project

Videos

Find out more about the New Leaf Project and its Impact on Ray and Katherine’s Lives

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“One of the interesting findings in the expansion project is this is a group that is really the hidden homeless. The population of working poor, with so many of our population that are working two, three jobs, and that was true in the pilot project. And if just one thing happens to them like loss of a job or their car breaks down or someone gets sick; That just defaults them to the street. So when you think about this cash transfer, it really is an intervention more upstream, as a preventative strategy to prevent people from becoming entrenched in homelessness ”

— Heather Hay,Director of the New Leaf Project

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