Re-Entry

Housing problems, including homelessness, are common among individuals leaving the corrections system. They tend to have limited or low incomes, and, often due to their criminal history, lack the ability to obtain housing through the channels that are open to other low-income people. As a result, one in five people who leave prison becomes homeless soon thereafter, if not immediately.  According to CT Counts 2009, 17% of single homeless adults were on probation, transitional supervision, or parole.

One effective model for addressing this problem is “re-entry housing,” which is subsidized housing with associated intensive support services directed especially toward people with disabilities. According to a cost analysis by the Corporation for Supportive Housing, a single re-entry housing unit in New York used by two people over one year can save $20,000 to $24,000 relative to the cost of release to shelter and re-incarceration.