The greatest of these barriers is housing.
We hear a lot about fair chance employers having positive results and receiving high praise. Similar results exist with fair chance housing, but the need is even greater for more housing providers to allow opportunities for those coming out of incarceration.
Less than 10 years ago, the field of reentry was dominated by the concept of “workforce readiness.” While workforce readiness is still a major factor, safe and affordable housing is now the priority. New employers are increasingly open to fair chance hiring, but those positions go unfilled because there is neither the housing nor transportation available for justice-impacted individuals to be successful at maintaining these jobs. The reality is that workforce development starts with housing — and includes transportation.
Being in a national housing crisis creates barriers for those without justice involvement, so it is no surprise that system-impacted individuals end up in situations of being unhoused or in unsafe living conditions. Ohio is taking steps to help mitigate these issues through initiatives like Master Leasing, HB50 (certificate of qualification for housing), and housing readiness education. Locally, we have the Montgomery County Office of Reentry that provides a subsidy after successful program completion, as well as a reentry coalition subcommittee made up of housing and service providers advocating and working toward housing solutions.
While these efforts are making a difference, we still need more from government, businesses and housing providers. We need more compassion. We need more heart.
Sean Mitchell has been a long-time community advocate working in the Greater Miami Valley Region non-profit sector for over 20 years. Sean currently works at Sinclair Community College as the Returning Citizen Coordinator.
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