Access to safe, affordable housing is one of the most difficult challenges many people returning from incarceration face.
Each year, as millions of people return home from prison and jail, at least 50,000 people experience homelessness because of a multitude of reentry barriers, such as a lack of affordable housing nationwide, stigma around renting to people with criminal records, and policies imposed by housing providers that limit availability to this population. As a result, they are 10 times more likely than the general public to experience homelessness. In fact, recent state-level data suggests that over 30 percent of people returning home from incarceration may experience homelessness, with local data suggesting that around 20 percent of people experiencing homelessness when released to community supervision. These challenges disproportionately impact Black, American Indian, and Hispanic individuals, who already face higher rates of homelessness and incarceration than White people in the U.S.
“I experienced prison incarceration four times. So, I understand firsthand the cycle between incarceration and homelessness accounting for the poorest outcomes and highest costs.”
– Dolfinette Martin, Housing Director, Operation Restoration
Once homeless, people are more vulnerable to increased contact with the justice system, often due to the criminalization of daily activities happening outside of a home. This has led to a costly revolving door of contact with law enforcement, courts, and incarceration that puts strain on the systems designed to respond to emergencies. This cycling between incarceration, emergency hospitals, shelters, and other settings comes at a substantial financial, societal, and human cost that makes communities neither safer nor stronger.