Rebuilding Lives. Strengthening Communities.

INSPIRATION FROM THE FIELD:
ST.LEONARD’S MINISTRIES IN CHICAGO
Founded in 1954, St. Leonard’s Ministries provides a unique blend of supportive housing and case
management services for 350 formerly incarcerated individuals each year through its three residential
programs—St. Leonard’s House, Grace House, and St.Andrew’s Court.
Staff at St. Leonard’s Ministries creates a tight-knit community to keep residents on the path to
productive and self-sufficient lives. To complement its mix of services, St. Leonard’s Ministries recently
opened the Michael Barlow Center within walking distance of its residential buildings to provide job training
and placement assistance for its residents. The recidivism rate for its residents after three years is
approximately 20 percent, compared to the statewide rate of 54 percent.
Source: Bob Dougherty (Executive Director, St. Leonard Ministries), interview with Ben Lumpkin, January 25, 2005.
MAYORAL POLICY CAUCUS ON PRISONER REENTRY
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But the homeless service system is not equipped to deal
with large numbers of formerly incarcerated individuals.
A recent paper published by the Regional Roundtable on
Homelessness noted that the federal Department of
Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) funding
restrictions and resource limitations, as well as program
and community-specific rules, often bar individuals with
felony convictions. 59
The general lack of affordable housing in Chicago also is a
barrier for many. Of course, former prisoners are only a
smaller subset of the larger general population in need.
Cutbacks in federal housing resources have reduced the
housing alternatives for all low-income people. As the
Re-Entry Policy Council pointed out, “Given the overwhelming
demand for and limited supply of affordable
housing and the stigma of having a criminal history, it is
unrealistic that individuals released from prison or jail
would be given priority access to the affordable housing.
At the same time, there are public safety and other
implications to categorically excluding recently released
individuals from this housing stock.” 60
Of the affordable housing that is available, many returning
prisoners do not have the financial ability to even pay a
deposit on an apartment by themselves. And they may be
ineligible for public housing.
Public housing policies in this country are governed by a
complex set of federal laws and regulations, local policy
directives, ordinances and judicial case law. When it
comes to people with criminal records, federal law imposes
ineligibility for public housing on certain types of
offenders, and gives discretion to local providers of
federally-assisted housing as they shape their admissions
policies to deny access to others. 61 Federal law also
requires public housing authorities to evict certain
occupants for certain criminal offenses. Screening rules
nationwide were developed in order to strike a balance
between addressing the housing needs of various populations
while safeguarding all residents from drug dealing
and other criminal activity. 62
It’s important to note that the Chicago Housing Authority
(CHA), regardless of its screening policy, has waiting lists
of tens of thousands of families for public housing units
and housing choice vouchers (formerly known as Section
8 vouchers). So currently, securing a new lease or a new
voucher through federally-assisted housing is not a
realistic option for anyone in Chicago, let alone those with
criminal backgrounds. Additionally, as CHA continues
through its “Plan for Transformation,” housing resources
are not available to accommodate households expanding
due to family members returning from prison or jail.
Released prisoners who may be able to stay with family, or
on their own, in their old communities may not want to
do so. They may need to change how they live, with
whom they live, and where they live. The Urban Institute
found that 45 percent of men leaving prison in Illinois
chose not to return to the same Chicago community where
they had lived before prison, partly because they wanted
to “avoid trouble” in their old neighborhoods. 63
Although finding a place to live is a critical component of
the reentry process for former prisoners, it may not be
enough to simply have a bed to sleep in and a roof over
their heads. Indeed, some individuals may actually need
some form of “supportive housing,” where their place of
residence is enriched with on-site services including a case
manager to help facilitate access to treatment, counseling,
employment and educational programs.
In the housing arena, more options for formerly
incarcerated people must exist to prevent recidivism,
foster stability, and promote public safety.