100 California Homeless Individuals to Benefit from Universal Basic Income Experiment Funded by Google, Led by non-profit Miracle Messages

Google.org donates $1.15 million to a privately-funded program led by Miracle Messages that aims to provide basic income and social support to 100 California homeless individuals in a 12-month study to assess its potential impact.

Miracle Money: California

The pilot, dubbed “Miracle Money: California,” will be evaluated through a randomized control trial led by researchers at the University of Southern California.

Miracle Messages will distribute $750 per month for a year to participants in Los Angeles County, San Francisco, and Oakland. In addition, each individual will be paired with a trained volunteer for weekly phone and text support, with scores of volunteers already participating from around the world, writes the Good News Network.

Building on Success

Building on the success of the organization’s previous basic income program, Miracle Money, which provided $500 a month for 6 months to homeless individuals in the Bay Area and resulted in 66% of recipients securing stable housing, Miracle Money: California is poised to make a significant impact. The detailed Proof of Concept Study can be downloaded here.

Kevan Chandler’s Story

In 2021, we spoke with Kevan Chandler, the Founder & CEO of Miracle Messages, who shared the significant positive impact the first trial of Miracle Money had on its participants.

Miracle Money: California will distribute over $1 million to 100 selected individuals, with the first cash payments already underway. The program will track outcomes such as housing stability, food security, mental and emotional health, and relational poverty. Miracle Messages is leading the charge in providing a lifeline to those experiencing homelessness in California.

To gain further insight into Kevan Chandler’s inspiring story and the impact of Miracle Messages, be sure to read this in-depth article on BrightVibes.