Homeless plan suggests pay people to stay off the streets

A paper released by the University of Calgary's School for Public Policy details a radical strategy to end homelessness.

The plan involves paying a fixed amount of money for every day a person spends in an apartment, condo or house.

'I think it’s a good starting point for debate and discussion on how you keep people from being homeless.' — economist Ben O'Flaherty

On the streets in Calgary there are about 4,000 people who have no place to call home.

Ben O'Flaherty is offering a solution. He's an economist from Columbia University who has studied homelessness for years.

He says providing a cash incentive might get people housed.

"I think it’s a good starting point for debate and discussion on how you keep people from being homeless," he said.

'Would have helped'

That's something Eugene Linklater is struggling with.

Alcohol put him on the streets years ago and he's struggled to keep a place ever since.

"This would have helped me a lot, this would have made me at least keep a place, look after the place. I would want nice things in my house so I'd try to keep my head up," he said.

But not everyone is sold.

Todd Hirsch, an economist with ATB financial, calls the plan innovative but has some questions.

"Are we making the subsidies almost too appealing to people? Would there be people taking advantage of it who really don't need the subsidy?" asked Hirsch.

It's still unclear how much would be paid for having a home, and where that money would come from — questions the U of C is now trying to get answers for by approaching politicians for more funding.