"Working to Build
A Better Community"
"The probability that we may fail in
the struggle ought not deter us from the support of a cause we believe to
be just."
~ Abraham Lincoln
EX-OFFENDER HOUSING DISCRIMINATION
THE BIG PICTURE: REALITY IN THE U.S.
THE REALITY IN MASSACHUSETTS
THE LAW IN MASSACHUSETTS
COMMUNITY RESOURCES IN
MASSACHUSETTS
PROGRAMS IN OTHER STATES
EX-OFFENDER HOUSING DISCRIMINATION
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“Ex-offenders are people. Not 'people too'—just people.” ~ Haywood Fennell, Sr., president The Stanley Jones Clean Slate Project |
This portion of the Stanley Jones Clean Slate Project web site addresses the central role that housing plays in successful ex-offender re-entry. These web pages reflect legal, policy, and field-based research undertaken by students at Northeastern University School of Law through the Community Lawyering Program during the winter and spring of 2004.
DIMENSIONS
Preventing Recidivism.
Many people who are incarcerated do not have the education, employment,
cognitive skills or support systems that they need to re-enter society
successfully. Lack of support for the
acquisition of basic skills and opportunities to enhance their well-being
during re-entry can lead ex-offenders back to criminal activity and
consequently, back into the prison system.
Housing for Successful Re-entry. The challenges that ex-offenders face during re-entry as they seek employment, housing and other forms of transitional support highlight the link between barriers to reintegration into the community and the prospect of recidivism among ex-offenders.
Costs and Harms to Communities. The issue of ex-offender re-entry is important for all citizens, including those who are not ex-offenders. The success or failure of ex-offender re-entry has a direct impact on public safety in our communities, the tax dollars we spend on adjudication and re-imprisonment of former inmates, and on the ongoing isolation of individuals with the potential to contribute to their families and communities more broadly.
HOUSING DISCRIMINATION SUMMARY
The Bigger Picture – U.S. and
Massachusetts.
Among other things, this site presents
an overview of the prison system in the U.S. and in Massachusetts where
prison populations and prison costs are on the rise. Transitional job and
housing programs to support ex-offender re-entry can reduce
recidivism among ex-offenders. Unfortunately, however, prison populations
have increased while re-entry programs have not increased accordingly. While recidivism hurts offenders, it is also society as a whole that
underwrites the financial costs of increasing levels of adjudication and
imprisonment.
In addition, this site identifies some of the personal barriers that ex-offenders face during the re-entry process, including addiction, mental illness, low education levels, and poor self-esteem. It also describes state and federal social and legal barriers to re-entry. For more information on the bigger picture, please visit The Big Picture: Reality in the U.S. and The Reality in Massachusetts sections.
Housing and the Law. This section of the site examines the legal barriers that ex-offenders face in their pursuit of housing. Both state and federal public housing regulations require public housing authorities and private landlords to screen applicants for their suitability as tenants. As part of that screening process, administrators and certified private landlords that receive public subsidies gain access to Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) and routinely reject applicants with criminal records. These records predispose authorities to infer that providing an ex-offender with public housing puts other tenants and/or their property at risk. Some criminal records show convictions that require public housing authorities to issue automatic rejections. Criminal records documenting other categories of convictions leave room for authorities to consider the degree to which a particular ex-offender has demonstrated personal transformation. Ex-offenders are not always successful at making their case for various reasons discussed on this site. For more information on public housing and the law, please visit The Law in Massachusetts section.
Community Resources. Where state and/or federal resources for public housing are not available to ex-offenders during the re-entry process, community resources attempt to fill the gaps. This section of the site includes a resource list of relevant advocacy organizations and service providers committed to the provision of transitional housing for ex-offenders. Though these groups and individuals make bold efforts to assist ex-offenders in finding the housing and services they need, these efforts are under-funded, too few in number, and still lack critical levels of coordination. For more information on community resources, please visit the Community Resources in Massachusetts section.
Ideas from Other States. This section of the site also provides comparative data on how other states have addressed ex-offender re-entry challenges through far more comprehensive programs than those that currently exist in Massachusetts. The state re-entry programs that are surveyed in this section offer hopeful pathways for change and reflect how other states are finding ways to effectively balance the value of public safety with the re-entry needs of ex-offenders. For more information on ideas from other states, please visit the Programs in Other States section.
Recommendations. Finally, the site includes recommendations for improving the laws concerning the criminal record system and public housing regulations. It also provides public policy recommendations related to re-entry programs, as well as a set of recommendations to ex-offenders trying to effectively access housing in Massachusetts upon release from prison. For more information on recommendations, please visit the Reform Recommendations section.