HomelessnessNCT05408884
Miracle Messages Evaluation
A study testing Social Support and Basic income in people with Homelessness, run by University of Southern California at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The project will conduct a randomized control trial (RCT) of an innovative program for people experiencing homelessness (PEH) that initially designed to address social isolation and loneliness among people experiencing homelessness but subsequently paired with an economic poverty-reduction intervention. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Homelessness
- What is being tested?
- Social Support and Basic income
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 759 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 6 May 2022to 15 Dec 2024
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- being 18 years old or older;
- speaks English;
- currently experiencing homelessness;
- has expressed interest in signing up for the Miracle Friends ("phone buddy") program.
Who cannot join
- not meeting the inclusion criteria;
- not able to provide informed consent.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: Miracle Friends and Miracle Money Evaluation
The project will conduct a randomized control trial (RCT) of an innovative program for people experiencing homelessness (PEH) that initially designed to address social isolation and loneliness among people experiencing homelessness but subsequently paired with an economic poverty-reduction intervention. The social support intervention, known as "Miracle Friends," pairs an unhoused person with a volunteer "phone buddy." The poverty reduction intervention, known as "Miracle Money," provides guaranteed basic income of $750 per month for 1 year to Miracle Friends participants.
Read the detailed description
The project will conduct a randomized control trial (RCT) of an innovative program for people experiencing homelessness (PEH) that initially designed to address social isolation and loneliness among people experiencing homelessness but subsequently paired with an economic poverty-reduction intervention. The social support intervention, known as "Miracle Friends (MF)," pairs an unhoused person with a volunteer "phone buddy." The poverty reduction intervention, known as "Miracle Money (M$)," provides guaranteed basic income of $750 per month for 1 year to MF participants. The RCT will have 3 arms of PEH who expressed interest in the phone buddy program: (1) those assigned to Miracle Friends; (2) those assigned to Miracle Money, which is not disclosed until after they actively engage in the Miracle Friends program; (3) And those assigned to a waitlist for Miracle Friends. To recruit for the study, the Miracle Friends program engage PEH through a variety of homeless services partners and introduce the MF program. Anyone who is interested in the MF program is provided information about a 15-month longitudinal study and referred to the research team to complete an eligibility screener. The research team explains the interview protocols that include receiving a $30 incentive each time a survey is completed that includes a baseline and 5 quarterly surveys. Participants will also be notified about being randomly selected to either be offered MF or put on a waitlist. Those assigned to the M$ are not notified about receiving monthly income until after they engage in the MF program. Information about frequency of contact with the MF social support volunteer and volunteer demographics will be provided directly from the Miracle Friends administrative data records.
- Conditions
- Homelessness
- Being tested
- Social Support, Basic income
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Social SupportOther
Also called Miracle Friends
Social support "phone buddy" program.
Basic incomeOther
Also called Miracle Money
$750 per month for 12 months
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Miracle Friends | Active comparator | Participants selected to receive a social support "phone buddy" program. Receives: Other: Social Support |
| waitlist | No intervention | Waitlisted for the social support "phone buddy" program. |
| Miracle Money | Experimental | Participants who receive $750 monthly income for 12 months based on having engaged in the Miracle Friends program Receives: Other: Social Support; Other: Basic income |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Homelessness/Housing status using questions from the Los Angeles Homeless Count
In the past 30 days, please indicate all places where you have slept for at least one night: 1. My own apartment or home 2. Someone else's apartment or home 3. In a shelter, emergency, temporary housing, 4. Hotel/motel provided by an agency 5. Outside on the street, park, or beach 6. Tent or makeshift shelter 7. In a bus station, train station, airport 8. Abandoned building 9. In a vehicle (car, van, recreation vehicle (RV), truck) 10. An institution, hospital, or facility
Measured: Measured quarterly for 15 months.
Secondary outcomes (3)
Employment status using questions from the Los Angeles Homeless Count
What is your employment status?
- Employed, full-time (35 hours a week or more)
- Employed, part-time
- Unemployed, looking for work
- Unemployed, not looking for work
- Retired, receiving retirement benefits
- Retired, not receiving benefits
Measured: Measured quarterly for 15 months.
Health status using Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement InformationSystem (PROMIS) Scale 1.2
In general, how would you rate your physical/mental health?
- Excellent
- Very good
- Good
- Fair
- Poor
Measured: Measured quarterly for 15 months.
University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Short Version
3 item questionnaire: How often do you feel that you lack companionship?
How often do you feel left out? How often do you feel isolated from others?
- Hardly ever
- Some of the time
- Often
Measured: Measured quarterly for 15 months.
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted7 Jun 2022
- Study start6 May 2022
- Primary completion1 Oct 2024 (estimated)
- Study completion15 Dec 2024 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for HomelessnessStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 759 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Southern California
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Miracle Messages
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Benjamin F. Henwood, University of Southern California
- Investigators
- Ben Henwood, PhD, Principal investigator, University of Southern California
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05408884
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- UP-22-00242
- Status last verified
- Nov 2023
- First submitted
- 26 May 2022
- Last updated
- 15 Nov 2023
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Publications
Henwood BF, Kim BE, Stein A, Corletto G, Suthar H, Adler KF, Mazzocchi M, Ip J, Padgett DK. Miracle friends and miracle money in California: a mixed-methods experiment of social support and guaranteed income for people experiencing homelessness. Trials. 2024 Apr 29;25(1):290. doi: 10.1186/s13063-024-08109-6.
PubMed 38685123
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 15 Nov 2023. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Miracle Friends and Miracle Money Evaluation
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05408884
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- UP-22-00242
- Conditions
- Homelessness
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Unknown status
- Enrolment
- 759 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Miracle Messages
- Study start
- 6 May 2022 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 1 Oct 2024 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 15 Dec 2024 (estimated)
- First posted
- 7 Jun 2022 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The project will conduct a randomized control trial (RCT) of an innovative program for people experiencing homelessness (PEH) that initially designed to address social isolation and loneliness among people experiencing homelessness but subsequently paired with an economic poverty-reduction intervention. The social support intervention, known as "Miracle Friends," pairs an unhoused person with a volunteer "phone buddy." The poverty reduction intervention, known as "Miracle Money," provides guaranteed basic income of $750 per month for 1 year to Miracle Friends participants.
Detailed description
The project will conduct a randomized control trial (RCT) of an innovative program for people experiencing homelessness (PEH) that initially designed to address social isolation and loneliness among people experiencing homelessness but subsequently paired with an economic poverty-reduction intervention. The social support intervention, known as "Miracle Friends (MF)," pairs an unhoused person with a volunteer "phone buddy." The poverty reduction intervention, known as "Miracle Money (M$)," provides guaranteed basic income of $750 per month for 1 year to MF participants. The RCT will have 3 arms of PEH who expressed interest in the phone buddy program: (1) those assigned to Miracle Friends; (2) those assigned to Miracle Money, which is not disclosed until after they actively engage in the Miracle Friends program; (3) And those assigned to a waitlist for Miracle Friends. To recruit for the study, the Miracle Friends program engage PEH through a variety of homeless services partners and introduce the MF program. Anyone who is interested in the MF program is provided information about a 15-month longitudinal study and referred to the research team to complete an eligibility screener. The research team explains the interview protocols that include receiving a $30 incentive each time a survey is completed that includes a baseline and 5 quarterly surveys. Participants will also be notified about being randomly selected to either be offered MF or put on a waitlist. Those assigned to the M$ are not notified about receiving monthly income until after they engage in the MF program. Information about frequency of contact with the MF social support volunteer and volunteer demographics will be provided directly from the Miracle Friends administrative data records.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (participant)
- Number of arms
- 3
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Miracle Friends | Active comparator | Other: Social SupportParticipants selected to receive a social support "phone buddy" program. |
| waitlist | No intervention | –Waitlisted for the social support "phone buddy" program. |
| Miracle Money | Experimental | Other: Social Support, Other: Basic incomeParticipants who receive $750 monthly income for 12 months based on having engaged in the Miracle Friends program |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- being 18 years old or older;
- speaks English;
- currently experiencing homelessness;
- has expressed interest in signing up for the Miracle Friends ("phone buddy") program.
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- not meeting the inclusion criteria;
- not able to provide informed consent.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Social SupportAlso: Miracle FriendsSocial support "phone buddy" program. | Other | Miracle Friends, Miracle Money |
| Basic incomeAlso: Miracle Money$750 per month for 12 months | Other | Miracle Money |
Primary outcome
Homelessness/Housing status using questions from the Los Angeles Homeless Count
Time frame: Measured quarterly for 15 months.
In the past 30 days, please indicate all places where you have slept for at least one night: 1. My own apartment or home 2. Someone else's apartment or home 3. In a shelter, emergency, temporary housing, 4. Hotel/motel provided by an agency 5. Outside on the street, park, or beach 6. Tent or makeshift shelter 7. In a bus station, train station, airport 8. Abandoned building 9. In a vehicle (car, van, recreation vehicle (RV), truck) 10. An institution, hospital, or facility
3 secondary outcomes
Employment status using questions from the Los Angeles Homeless Count
Time frame: Measured quarterly for 15 months.
Health status using Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement InformationSystem (PROMIS) Scale 1.2
Time frame: Measured quarterly for 15 months.
University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Short Version
Time frame: Measured quarterly for 15 months.
Results and safety
Results are not available in the source record.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 15 Nov 2023.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 38685123Henwood BF, Kim BE, Stein A, Corletto G, Suthar H, Adler KF, Mazzocchi M, Ip J, Padgett DK. Miracle friends and miracle money in California: a mixed-methods experiment of social support and guaranteed income for people experiencing homelessness. Trials. 2024 Apr 29;25(1):290. doi: 10.1186/s13063-024-08109-6.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Ben Henwood, PhD principal investigator
University of Southern California
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Social Support and Basic income in people with Homelessness, run by University of Southern California at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: status not confirmed, as of the sponsor's last update on 15 Nov 2023. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
Results are not available in the source record.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Homelessness/Housing status using questions from the Los Angeles Homeless Count (time frame: Measured quarterly for 15 months.). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT05408884, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 15 Nov 2023.