Homeless money

Some cities are considering giving cash benefits to homeless people. Some will use this money to buy necessities but others will use it for drugs and alcohol. Prior to 1990 it was common for alcoholics living on the street to receive SSI benefits from social security. The average benefit was $600 per month. There was a stipulation that the money had to sent to an address and the alcoholic had to designate a responsible person to receive the money. It was not uncommon for the alcoholic to use the owner of the local liquor store to be the recipient of the monthly check. He would then cash the check, pay off the liquor bill and give the remainder to the alcoholic. Another problem is when you start sending checks to homeless many homeless people in other areas will move into your town to collect the benefit. There has to be a go slow approach to this in order to see how it works.