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Sep 29, 2026
Czech Study Finds Supporting Homeless People Can Save Public Money
Prague Morning
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A Czech experiment in which homeless people received CZK 100,000 with no conditions attached suggests that early financial support can reduce some of the costs associated with homelessness.
The project, known as New Leaf, was carried out by the Czech organization Neposeda in cooperation with researchers from Charles University.
The findings indicate that the state spends an average of about CZK 200,000 a year on each person experiencing homelessness, with healthcare, social services and police work accounting for a significant share of the total.
The researchers concluded that leaving people without support can ultimately be more expensive for public finances than providing targeted assistance.
How the New Leaf experiment worked
The project ran from summer 2024 until the end of 2025 and was inspired by a similar initiative in Canada.
Researchers focused on people who had been living on the streets for no more than two and a half years. The aim was to examine whether intervention at an earlier stage of homelessness could prevent longer-term problems.
Participants were divided into several groups. Forty people received CZK 100,000 without restrictions on how the money could be used. Another 20 were offered the support of a personal social worker instead, while 40 people formed a control group and received no additional assistance.
The study initially involved 100 people. One participant died from a serious illness shortly after the project began, leaving 99 participants in the final research sample.
The researchers tracked participants’ use of public services and their contact with state authorities, including emergency medical services, hospitals, outpatient healthcare, social services and police.
Healthcare accounts for the largest share
The study estimates that the state spends around CZK 200,000 annually on each homeless person.
Healthcare represented almost 43% of the estimated expenditure. Low-threshold services, which provide basic support and a safe place for people experiencing homelessness, accounted for around a quarter of the total.
Police work represented another 9%, or more than 18,000 crowns per person each year.
The wider cost to public finances
Data from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs recorded 11,641 homeless people in the Czech Republic in the previous year.
Based on the estimated annual cost per person, direct public expenditure associated with homelessness amounts to roughly 2.33 billion crowns a year.
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