Helping Ex-Prisoners Reconnect to Life

Housing

Middle Passage II-The Life Cyclce of Reentry will venture to provide individuals reentering society with low cost housing options that will enable individuals reentering society in Madison, WI to have the opportunity to re establish themselves as wholesome citizens and substantive contributors to the community. An often-overlooked challenge facing returning prisoners is finding housing. One of the first things a person returning from prison must do is find a place to live, for a number of reasons, finding stable housing can be difficult. First, returning prisoners rarely have the financial resources or personal references necessary to compete for and secure housing in the private housing market. Additionally, federal laws bar many convicted felons from public housing and federally assisted housing programs. And, for some, returning to the homes of their families is not an option. As a result, many returning prisoners end up homeless, with all the attendant risks, for some time after their release.

Housing is particularly important issue when we consider that the first few months following release are often a critical time-when a returning prisoners may be most tempted to fall back into old habits. Without the benefits provided by stable housing, released prisoners struggling to meet other basic needs, such as finding employment and gaining access to substance abuse treatment and health care services, and may face a higher risk of relapse and recidivism. Providing access to affordable housing offers needed stability for returning prisoners and their families that could ease the transition back into the community.

Female Housing Needs – Single Mother’s Village and Reentry- is for the purpose of having mothers in close proximity to one another in order to provide them with a support network that will potentially include their children and provide an environment that will lend itself to rebuild families.  More specifically, the location should be adjacent to a faith-based facility to provide the proper support and spiritual counseling necessary to help in healing.  In this regard, the churches will be asked to serve as partners in this effort.
Events in the hours and days following release can make the difference between success ful reintegration and relapse, reoffense, and recidivism. Research indicates that former prisoner with access to supportive networks are more likely to make the transition successfully. Family and other close social connections are the most likely people to provide the needed emotional and financial support to a returning prisoner.
About half of male prisoners and two thirds of female prisoners report having at least one minor child. Many of these families are characterized by somewhat complicated and fragmented relationships. Nearly three-quarters of incarcerated parents in state prisons have never been married or are currently divored or separated. Less than half of parents in state prison reported living with their children before prison. More women reported living with their children before prison than incarcerated fathers. Children of incarcerated fathers are more likely to remain with their mothers, while the children of incarcerated mothers are more likely to end up living with a grandparent or other relative. Further, the degree to which a child is affected by the incarceration and return of a parent rest on a number of variables, including the age at which the child is separated from his/her parent, length of separation, the level of disruption, number and result of previous separation experiences, and the availability of family or community support i.e. Faith-Based and Community organizations

Housing Renovation – In order to insure that ex offenders are able to work and provide housing for others of a similar sort to themselves – middle passage reentry will make it a priority to acquire vacant houses in the CDBG and city planning and development identified target areas for the purpose of providing housing to not only
ex offenders but also at-risk low income families.