Policy Statement 19, Research Highlight 4
Families can often provide an immediate source of safe housing to people released from prison, but doing so may mean risking the entire family's tenancy in publicly subsidized housing.
While studies indicate that the majority of recently released individuals lives with a family member, close friend or significant other, this option is not possible for some. [1] This may be the result of family conflict, the reluctance of family members to welcome a violent individual back into their lives, or the absence of immediate family. In some cases, conditions of parole may also prevent individuals from returning to the home of a friend or family member because of their past relationship or because the family member has a criminal record. In addition, a decision to live with family members who live in public housing puts their residential stability at risk, as they could be evicted for housing someone who is not on the lease, or may be subject to the exclusion policies described above.
- Marta Nelson, Perry Deess, and Charlotte Allen, The First Month Out: Post-Incarceration Experiences in New York City (New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 1999). Nancy G. LaVigne et al., A Portrait of Prisoner Reentry in Maryland (Washington, DC: The Urban Institute, 2003). back