Taking Stock: Housing, Homelessness, and Prisoner Reentry

• NCJ Number: 222767
• Author(s): Caterina Gouvis Roman; Jeremy Travis
• Date Published: March 2004
• Length: 126 pages
• Corporate Author: The Urban Institute
• Sale Source: The Urban Institute
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Final Report downloaded on May 20, 2008.

Annotation

This report examines how those who have been incarcerated secure safe and affordable housing following their release and discusses housing programming and practice designed to assist them.

Abstract

Over the past generation, the United States has placed greater reliance on incarceration as a response to crime. As a consequence, many more people in the country have spent time incarcerated, in both prisons and jails. The record levels of movement in and out of the country’s prisons and jails have far-reaching consequences for the individual prisoners themselves, their families, and the communities they return to. This report examines how those who have spent time in prison or jail fare in obtaining safe and affordable housing following their release and discusses housing programming and practice designed to assist returning prisoners. The report is the culmination and synthesis of three tasks designed to inform the state of knowledge around housing, homelessness, and prisoner reentry: (1) a descriptive report on the barriers and challenges facing returning prisoners and opportunities for serving or supporting the housing-related needs of returning prisoners, (2) a scan of promising housing and other housing-related service programs for returning prisoners and ex-offenders, and (3) a roundtable discussion by experts in the field held in Washington, DC, in 2003. The report is structured as follows: Section I provides an overview of the issue of prisoner reentry. Section II explores the various housing options for returning prisoners and ex-offenders. Section III summarizes the dialog from the 2003 Roundtable discussion. Lastly, section IV includes a scan of practice that portrays a variety of programs around the country. The ultimate aim of this report is to sharpen the Nation’s thinking on the issue of housing and prisoner reintegration, and to foster policy innovations that will improve outcomes for individuals, families, and communities. References and appendix