How Housing Improves Public Safety

How Housing Improves Public Safety
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At first glance, the connection between improving public safety and ensuring a person leaving jail or prison has fair access to housing may not seem obvious. But a safer society for all of us is exactly what the Obama Administration is creating when it sends strong messages to public and private landlords that denying housing solely on the basis of a person having been incarcerated is discriminatory under the federal Fair Housing Act. What perhaps is even less self-evident is why the housing-public safety nexus is gaining such bipartisan traction; yet the answer here also springs from the recognition there are safer, smarter ways of addressing a person's reentry into the community.

The reality is this: The moment a person fresh from prison or jail steps off the bus in any town, a daunting challenge confronts them - where to find a place to sleep. Many face this trauma alone as family members may have died, moved away, or withdrawn the welcome mat. They have no money or prospects for a job. Then there are the public-perception obstacles they face, namely Not in My Backyard "NIMBY-ism" and a wide-spread unwillingness to rent to them.

As a result, a large percentage of newly-released prisoners end up in homeless shelters. Alarmingly, anywhere from 30-50% caught in shelters are from jails or prisons.

Another fact we cannot ignore is a disproportionate amount of these individuals are impoverished African-American or Latino-American men - individuals who should be protected under the Fair Housing Act but who before now were disregarded and invisible because of their past incarceration.

In too many instances young African-American and Latino-American men have been denied opportunities as a direct result of biases, greatly contributing to their likelihood of incarceration. Continuing to discriminate by denying post-release housing only exacerbates the fallout from a system that appears weighted against them.

The Fortune Society, a group serving those leaving jails and prisons, filed a lawsuit making such an argument and pointing out that discrimination against those who have been in criminal justice facilities directly counters the intent and spirit of the Fair Housing Act because it disproportionately affects African-American and Latino-American men.

As an alternative to homelessness and shelters, CSH has for years promoted many models of supportive housing (affordable units linked to services) helping people protected by the Fair Housing Act, including those who have served their time.

Frequent User of Systems Engagement (FUSE) reentry supportive housing is for individuals with chronic medical or behavioral health challenges leaving jails or prisons.

The idea behind FUSE is simple: Give the person exiting a criminal justice facility a real "second chance" to move forward and become self-sufficient by bolstering their stability and access to the medical, mental health, job training and maybe substance use help they need. Because if we don't, we're likely dooming them to a second sentence of a life in poverty, increasing their risks of homelessness and recidivism and jeopardizing the public safety of everyone.

Because FUSE is an early intervention that follows through on services, participants demonstrate fewer jail days and shelter stays, and there are genuine public cost savings.

FUSE is making its mark across the country. The Connecticut Collaborative on Re-Entry Program (CCR), for example, is a FUSE supportive housing initiative that uses data-driven targeting to identify and serve a set of individuals in Connecticut that repeatedly cycle in and out of the homeless services and correction systems. A few years ago, Mecklenburg County Community Support Services (CSS) leadership was researching effective jail diversion models that would reduce recidivism and save public dollars, and discovered CSH's FUSE model. The county has received national recognition for its MeckFUSE effort.

In order for programs like FUSE to grow, governments, Public Housing Authorities, private landlords and providers must recognize denying housing to someone based on something that may have occurred 20 years ago unduly perpetuates a punishment that should end along with the sentence.

This isn't a problem for just one state or community. Nationwide, nearly 700,000 people a year are being released from jails and prisons. That means potentially tens of thousands more crowding into our homeless shelters annually if we don't choose better ways to ensure successful reentries.

As the numbers of individuals being released increases, and the risks of their homelessness and recidivism also rise, our policymakers in Washington are making the right call when they embrace the Fair Housing Act as a potent vehicle to end housing discrimination against those who have already paid their debt, and are looking for nothing more than equitable treatment and a fair shake to move forward.

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