(Photo by Sérgio Rola / Unsplash)
The Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson, which makes it easier for municipalities to fine and arrest unhoused people for sleeping outside, has underscored the close links between mass incarceration and homelessness.
The U.S. is not only home to the world’s largest population of incarcerated people — it’s also home to the world’s largest population of formerly incarcerated people, who are almost 10 times more likely to be homeless than the general public. People experiencing homelessness are more likely to be arrested for loitering and other minor offenses, which target behaviors associated with homelessness. Black communities that have been systematically starved of investment have the highest rates of both homelessness and incarceration. It’s a vicious cycle of poverty and punishment.
Amid an unprecedented housing affordability crisis, one in three Americans faces especially grim prospects of finding a stable home due to previous arrests or convictions. Discriminatory rental policies — including broad bans on people who have been arrested or convicted — coupled with affordable housing shortages make finding shelter almost impossible for many formerly incarcerated individuals and their families.
On a societal and economic level, this makes little sense. For decades, research has found that ensuring stable housing for formerly incarcerated individuals is a pragmatic approach to reducing recidivism. Now, some policymakers are finally starting to catch up to the evidence.
In a long-awaited move, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposed a new rule this year to end the practice of rejecting or evicting tenants from public housing or HUD-subsidized housing solely based on a criminal record.
Under the proposed rule, applicants for public or HUD-assisted housing would no longer be categorically denied apartments because of criminal convictions. Instead, applicants would be individually assessed and Public Housing Authorities would be required to weigh mitigating factors. The agency is expected to finalize the proposed policy before the end of the year.
Some states and cities are also already addressing rental discrimination in the private market. In 2021, New Jersey became the first jurisdiction to pass a statewide Fair Chance in Housing law, limiting what landlords can inquire about and how far back they can scrutinize a person’s history. A handful of cities, including Seattle, Minneapolis, Washington, D.C. and New York City, have also enacted similar measures.
For property owners and landlords, discrimination is often counterproductive. A person’s criminal record or credit score don’t tell you everything about how good a tenant someone will be.
In my previous role heading the Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center, our team worked with a single father who had spent time behind bars following a conviction in 1998. Despite getting his life back on track and working a full-time job, it took him years to find a home he could afford. Even once he and his toddler were able to move into a home, a few days later the property manager told him he had to move out because of his conviction.
His story has stuck with me, particularly because my son was the same age as the client’s child. Throughout our time working on his case, I thought often about the person I was in 1998, when I was 18, and the person I am now. Despite all the life that we’ve lived since 1998, this man was still not allowed to move past a single mistake. That mistake continued to threaten his and his young child’s stability.
While there are many steps we must take to address the root causes of mass incarceration and housing unaffordability, limiting the use of criminal records in housing access is one significant step to mitigate their impact.
Our refusal to ensure that everyone has access to housing is an increasingly indefensible policy choice that restricts economic mobility and hurts the people who make up our country’s overall economy. Remember: Improving access to housing doesn’t just improve the lives of its residents. It benefits all of us, in large part because providing access to housing addresses societal problems at their root.
Mass incarceration and homelessness are not isolated phenomena. They are deeply intertwined issues that reflect broader societal failures. Dismantling this vicious cycle requires a commitment to compassionate, evidence-based policies that address their root causes.
