Examining the Role between Incarceration and the Housing Security of Urban Men
Individuals returning from prison face many barriers to a successful re-entry in society, perhaps none more serious than the challenge of securing stable housing. Housing has long been recognized as a prerequisite for employment and access to social services for ex-offenders, and stable housing has also been cited as a key support for vulnerable populations more broadly.
Despite the challenges inherent in prisoner re-entry, and the documented importance of secure, affordable housing, minimal research has been devoted to the relationship between the two. A recent article co-authored by Boston University Assistant Professor Marah Curtis and Columbia University Associate Research Scientist Amanda Geller sheds more light on this subject. The article, “A Sort of Homecoming: Incarceration and the housing security of urban men,” appears in the July 2011 issues of Social Science Research.
“Incarceration is truly a family affair,” Curtis said. “The majority of incarcerated men are fathers with minor children, and some estimates suggesting that about 350,000 fathers of minors were released from federal and state prisons in 2008 alone. The magnitude of fathers returning from prison is quite large.”
Geller and Curtis’ analysis is based on data drawn from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study, a longitudinal cohort study of nearly 5,000 couples with children born between 1998 and 2000 in 75 hospitals in 20 large United States cities. The analysis examines the housing hardships of urban families with formerly incarcerated men, and the extent to which post-incarceration hardships exceed those faced by other disadvantaged men. It examines the extent to which these men face greater insecurity after their time in prison (compared to before), and tests for mechanisms through which incarceration might compromise ex-prisoners’ housing security upon re-entry.
“The questions we’re asking are, ‘Where do these men go,’ ‘Are they able to return home,’ and ‘Can they secure and maintain stable housing?’” Curtis said. “These are pressing issues for all states to contend with, particularly in the case of California, where the Supreme Court has ruled a drastic reduction in prisoners over the next few years.”
Geller and Curtis’ findings demonstrate the importance of secure housing, and suggest that the housing circumstances of ex-prisoners are likely to be severely compromised upon re-entry.
They found that formerly incarcerated men face more than twice the odds of homelessness as men who have not been incarcerated. The housing insecurity observed among formerly incarcerated men is closely tied to the limited labor market options available to ex-offenders, and is even greater for formerly incarcerated men with ties to public housing. Public housing residents are subject to heightened scrutiny, and incarcerated men with ties to public housing face significantly higher rates of eviction than even other ex-offenders.
“Understanding the housing challenges and potential mechanisms impacting the re-entry population is necessary and sound public policy,” Curtis said. “I would argue that housing is a smart place to start.”
– Jason L. London