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September 11, 2023
New PPI briefing argues housing "is one of our best tools for ending mass incarceration"
Brian Nam-Sonenstein writing for the Prison Policy Initiative has this new briefing developing the case for the claim that ending homelessness can help reduce incarceration. The briefing has this full title: "Seeking shelter from mass incarceration: Fighting criminalization with Housing First; Providing unconditional housing with embedded services can reduce chronic homelessness, reduce incarceration, and improve quality of life – especially for people experiencing substance use disorder and mental illness." And here is how the briefing gets started (with links from the original):
Housing is one of our best tools for ending mass incarceration. It does more than put a roof over people’s heads; housing gives people the space and stability necessary to receive care, escape crises, and improve their quality of life. For this reason, giving people housing can help interrupt a major pathway to prison created by the criminalization of mental illness, substance use disorder, and homelessness.
For this briefing, we examined over 50 studies and reports, covering decades of research on housing, health, and incarceration, to pull together the best evidence that ending housing insecurity is foundational to reducing jail and prison populations. Building on our work detailing how jails are (mis)used to manage medical and economic problems and homelessness among formerly incarcerated people, we show that taking care of this most basic need can have significant positive downstream effects for public health and safety.
September 11, 2023 at 02:37 PM | Permalink
Comments
Giving someone housing doesn’t make him less mentally ill or addicted.
Posted by: TarlsQtr | Sep 11, 2023 9:17:19 PM
Tarls,
I'm sure you missed that part (in the title of the article) which specifically refers to "embedded services" that will be included with housing opportunities.
To assist you, here is, once again, the full title (pay attention):
"Seeking shelter from mass incarceration: Fighting criminalization with Housing First; Providing unconditional housing with EMBEDDED SERVICES can reduce chronic homelessness, reduce incarceration, and improve quality of life – especially for people experiencing substance use disorder and mental illness."
It is allowable to rephrase or modify previous comments, which I am confident you will now seek to do. We will be looking forward to that new posting.
Posted by: SG | Sep 12, 2023 5:35:08 AM
SG sings the siren song--if we just did more, bad people wouldn't do bad things.
Posted by: federalist | Sep 12, 2023 9:38:37 AM
SG,
No, I didn’t miss “embedded services,” so no modification is necessary.
Most of our homeless problem is created by addiction and mental illness. They are often “voluntary homeless,” thus not wanting permanent shelter nor the embedded services.
Even forcing them into such housing is troublesome, as leftist judge after leftist judge has said they have the right to live on the streets.
Unless you compel them, which implies incarceration or the threat of it, you are pissing into the wind. Even then, if the help is not wanted it is wasted.
Posted by: TarlsQtr | Sep 12, 2023 2:48:15 PM
"Unless you compel them, which implies incarceration or the threat of it, you are pissing away our money into the wind."
There, I fixed it. :)
Posted by: federalist | Sep 12, 2023 4:11:01 PM
Tarls/Fed:
Totally agree that one cannot "force" a person towards permanent and meaningful change. But incarceration does nothing other than incapacitate, and fails miserably at rehabilitation (one of the five stated goals of 'sentencing').
The dysfunctional person (addict or otherwise) will only change when that person finds the will to do so. However, should the person find that will when incarcerated, or when provided housing through the "Housing First" program, the rehab services and mental health treatment must be readily available for them to take advantage of IF they are at that point in their lives when they have found that will.
The "Housing First" must make their programs available, in my opinion, with minimal conditions, restrictions, etc. and open to all irrespective of their past histories.
Often, govt. services are withheld from sex offenders who are most in need of support such as housing, employment, support groups, etc. if we are truly sincere in our desire to reduce the risk of such offenders from re-offending. With unnecessary restrictions and conditions, we more often than not cut our noses off to spite our face.
Seems that the problem with prison is that those who are incarcerated may one day while in the yard, or in their cell, or elsewhere, have an epipheny and find their will to change. They then take seek out whatever services are available to them.
If they find that the needed programs are not existing nor available, or the prisoner is "excluded" for some reason, then it is a missed opportunity. Their will to change is fragile, fungible and often disappears with even the slightest speedbump placed in their way. You can say "oh, that's their problem, not mine", but where does that get us, other than more crime, more victims, more suffering, more $$, more prisons, lower quality of life for us all, etc.?
We can do so much better if we increase funding for resources and rehabilitation efforts as proposed in the article above.
Posted by: SG | Sep 12, 2023 7:19:38 PM
Good Article! CNC machining
Posted by: Machining | Sep 13, 2023 2:29:40 AM
