 University of Washington researchers, partnering with DESC, found that providing housing and support services for homeless alcoholics costs taxpayers less than leaving them on the street, where taxpayer money goes towards police and emergency health care.Results of the study funded by the Substance Abuse Policy Research Program (SAPRP) of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation appeared in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" in April 2009.This first controlled assessment in the U.S. of the effectiveness of Housing First, specifically targeting chronically-homeless alcoholics, showed that the programme saved taxpayers more than $4 million over the first year of operation.