Opinion | America’s Increasing Child Poverty Is a Policy Choice - The New York Times

The government has a choice here. It can deliver cash transfers, enact public goods and establish a floor of livelihood where nobody suffers from poverty or want — or it can allow children and families to go hungry, unhoused, indebted and abandoned on the altar of the market. It is time to once again use our immense power and resources to reduce suffering and save lives...

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/25/opinion/us-child-poverty.html

A Canadian study gave $7,500 to homeless people. Here’s how they spent it.

The recipients of the cash transfers did not increase spending on drugs, tobacco, and alcohol, but did increase spending on food, clothes, and rent, according to self-reports. What's more, they moved into stable housing faster and saved enough money to maintain financial security over the year of follow-up. 

"Counter to really harmful stereotypes, we saw that people made wise financial choices," Claire Williams, the CEO of Foundations for Social Change, told me...

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/21528569/homeless-poverty-cash-transfer-canada-new-leaf-project

The promise of conditional cash transfers

... I think the second thing to remember is that in the end, these cash transfer programs are really about society helping families. It's about really finding the people who need the help the most and providing them with the funds necessary to have enough food to eat and to be able to invest in their kids.
https://www.aeaweb.org/research/cumulative-impacts-conditional-cash-transfer-indonesia