M-A-D After Jail/Prison Supportive Housing Ministry

What is After Jail/Prison Supportive Housing Ministry?

After Jail/Prison Supportive Housing Ministry is a combination of free/affordable housing and supportive services designed to help vulnerable ex-inmates and their families use stable housing as a platform for health, recovery and personal growth. After Jail/Prison Supportive Housing Ministry can be a choice of independent housing that meets the needs of ex-inmates and is integrated within the neighborhood or community. This may include an apartment, duplex or single family home. Services available in the after jail/prison supportive housing ministry will vary depending on individual preferences and needs, but will include ministry and can include case management, mental health services, primary health services, substance abuse treatment, employment services, parenting skills etc.

Who Lives in After Jail/Prison Supportive Housing Ministry Residences?

After Jail/Prison Supportive Housing Ministry is designed to serve those vulnerable ex-inmates unable to stay housed without a wide range of supportive services. Ex-inmates and their families living in the after jail/prison supportive housing ministry residences may have a long history of incarceration, homelessness or stays in institutions. They often face one or more persistent obstacles to maintaining housing such as serious mental illness, substance use disorders, chronic medical problems and on & off incarceration too. Though services help ex-inmates maintain stability, being housed is an essential first step in addressing conditions that often have gone untreated for many years. The combination of housing and supportive services creates a synergy that allows ex-inmates to take steps toward recovery and independence.

Code Distinguishing Qualities of After Jail/Prison Supportive Housing Ministry

Quality supportive housing projects are as diverse as the communities in which they are located but all supportive housing:

Targets households whose head of household has just been released from experiencing incarceration at a jail/prison. They may also be facing multiple incarceration barriers to employment and housing stability, including incarceration, mental illness, substance use and/or other disabling or chronic health conditions.
Is free/affordable meaning ex-inmates household ideally pays no rent or more than 15% of their household income toward rent.
Provides ex-inmates supportive housing - with every 90 days length of tenancy (review every 90 days) as long as terms and conditions are met.
Ex-inmates just released from a jail/prison. The ex-inmate must have written verification from the jail/prison staff that the ex-inmate has been residing at the jail/prison for incarcerated in-mates and is now just released. The verification must be on agency letterhead, signed and dated.
Proactively involves ex-inmates household with flexible and comprehensive display of supportive services requiring participation in services as a condition of a ongoing occupant.
Effectively adjusts ex-inmates to address issues resulting from incarceration, substance use, mental health along with other crises with a concentration on promotion of housing stability.
Supports ex-inmates in connecting with community-based resources and activities while building strong social support networks.
Does After Jail/Prison Supportive Housing Ministry Work?

Research has repeatedly shown that the lives of ex-inmates and families improve in supportive housing. Supportive housing also improves outcomes and generates cost savings for public systems, while benefiting communities.

Supportive Housing Improves Lives
- Supportive housing has positive effects on housing stability, employment, mental and physical health, and school attendance. Ex-inmates in supportive housing live more stable and productive lives.
Supportive Housing Generates Significant Cost Savings to Public Systems

Cost studies from across the country have found that supportive housing results in ex-inmates decreased use of homeless shelters, hospitals, emergency rooms, jails and prisons.
Supportive Housing Benefits Communities
Evidence shows that supportive housing benefits communities by improving the safety of neighborhoods, beautifying city blocks with new or rehabilitated properties, and increasing or stabilizing property ex-inmates values over time.

Supportive Housing Models

Just as the communities and neighborhoods in which supportive housing exist are diverse, so too are ex-inmates supportive housing projects. Supportive housing projects can have units that are all located in the same building or scattered throughout the community. A given project or property may include units of free/general affordable or market-rate housing mixed with supportive housing. Supportive services may be delivered on-site, in the community or by mobile teams. Supportive housing projects can create units using a variety of methods, ranging from constructing a new building on vacant land, to leasing existing units in the free/private rental market, to securing units set aside in a free/affordable housing development. The most appropriate model and unit creation method will change based on ex-inmates preferences and needs, the type of free/housing stock and financing sources available, the norms and history of a community’s real estate market, and the capacity and interest of the involved organizations.

In general, supportive housing models are described by the answers to the following four questions:

Will the ex-inmates units be located in one building or scattered throughout multiple properties or buildings?
What portion of the total ex-inmates units in a given property will be supportive housing?
How will the ex-inmates units included in the supportive housing project be created?
What is the overall strategy for the delivery of ex-inmates supportive services?

Quality project design and administration in a ex-inmate supportive housing project is:

Tenant-Centered: Ex-inmates play an active role in planning the supportive housing project, and all ex-inmates share a common commitment to helping tenants thrive.
Accessible: The housing is free/affordable, in a location that meets tenants’ needs and accommodates ex-inmates with special needs.
Coordinated: Roles, responsibilities and communication strategies are clearly established among the supportive housing partners & ex-inmates, codified in written agreements and revisited regularly.
Integrated: The supportive housing project meets or exceeds community standards, and the partners & ex-inmates actively engage in community dialogue.
Sustainable: The supportive housing project has funding that is free/adequate for its ongoing operations and allows it to target its intended tenants/ex-inmates.

Select from the links below to access additional resources to support your organization in planning and operating a quality ex-inmate supportive housing project.

Planning a Quality Supportive Housing Project

http://www.csh.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/1_PlanningSH_targetpop_F.pdf

Involving Tenants/Ex-inmates in Planning a Supportive Housing Project

http://www.csh.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/2_PlanningSH_sponsor_F.pdf

Setting Project Goals

http://www.csh.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/3_PlanningSH_goals_F.pdf

Choosing a Unit Creation Strategy

http://www.csh.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/4_PlanningSH_unitcreation_F.pdf

Choosing Your Role

http://www.csh.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/5_PlanningSH_roles_F.pdf

Selecting Your Team

http://www.csh.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/6_PlanningSH_partners_F.pdf

Involving Tenants/Ex-inmates in Planning

As your organization begins to outline the ex-inmate supportive housing project, representatives of your target tenant/ex-inmate population play a critical role in the process. Prospective tenants/ex-inmates can share valuable input on desired features in a housing unit and the supportive services of greatest interest. There are many options for involving tenants/ex-inmates in the planning process:

Project Team Membership — You can include individuals/inmates who have life experiences similar to those of the tenants/inmates you intend to house on the project planning team. These individuals/inmates would participate in all regular meetings of the planning team, helping to ensure that tenant/inmate needs ground all decisions.
Focus Groups — You can hold focus groups with persons who have life experiences similar to those of your targeted tenants/inmates. It may be helpful to compensate participants with food and/or a gift card ect. Consider holding the focus groups at varied times or day(s) of the week to maximize participation.
Written or Online Surveys — You can create a survey designed to gather information from the targeted tenants/inmates and/or community members. Consider keeping the survey brief and written in plain language. You also may want to allow individuals/inmates to complete the survey by phone, to encourage persons with differing levels of literacy and/or English proficiency to participate.

Housing Unit Location and Siting for Ex-Inmate Supportive Housing Projects

Regardless of the housing model chosen for the project, the location of the units is critically important. As you talk with prospective tenants/ex-inmates and your project team discusses where the units will be located, think about the following:

What aspects of location are most important to tenants/ex-inmates? Do units need to be near parks or other recreational opportunities? Schools? Supportive services? Opportunities for employment? Are there particular neighborhoods where tenants/ex-inmates would like to live or not live?
How will tenants/ex-inmates access the community amenities and resources they need? Can the units be located near public transportation? If not, what alternate transportation will be provided?
Once you have established some of the critical aspects of the units’ location, you can begin the housing search. This process will vary based upon whether you are building or leasing the units in your project and whether they will be scattered throughout multiple sites or located within one building.

Selecting Location

Site search and selection are major elements in creating a ex-inmate supportive housing project in which new units of housing are being developed. In most cases, a site must be identified and site control secured in order for the project to seek permanent financing and build community support. The site selection process is most successful when it is a methodical search for a site that best meets the established criteria, including size, location, proximity to services and price. These considerations will help to ensure the project will fulfill the needs of the future tenants/ex-inmates.

When selecting a ex-inmate supportive housing site, there are six primary components to consider:

Establishing Site Selection Criteria

Scale — The size and scale of the proposed project should be based on the needs of the target tenant/ex-inmate population, organizational capacity and appropriate fit with the identified neighborhood.

Housing Type and Construction — The type of housing to be built, whether scattered-site, one and two-family houses, or larger multi-unit buildings, has a significant impact on the site selection process. The construction approach – new construction versus rehabilitation – also will help guide the site search.

Location — As with all real estate decisions, the location of the site is critical. Factors such as access to transportation, employment opportunities, neighborhood amenities, community-based resources and services, day care, public schools and family resources, and security all should be evaluated.

Acquisition or Lease Costs — The cost of acquiring or leasing a development site may be the overriding consideration for selecting a property. Many public funding programs have a maximum acquisition or lease cost (total or per unit caps) that must be considered during the site search.

Zoning Considerations — Zoning also must be carefully considered in selecting a site. If a zoning variance is required, this can add significant challenges and delays to the development process.

Community Acceptance — The potential for community support or opposition to a proposed development should be considered as the site search is being conducted.

Engaging in the Site Search

There are several different strategies for engaging in the site search process, including:

Exploring Diverse Potential Sources of Sites such as privately owned sites that are “on-the-market” or available for lease, HUD and FHA-foreclosed property, bank foreclosures, publicly owned property taken for tax arrears, and religious properties.

Using a Real Estate Broker to help with your site search, given his or her knowledge about residential real estate, including the multifamily housing development market.

Conducting a Site Search Independently without a real estate broker by conducting a “windshield survey” of the target neighborhood(s), researching property ownership and sales history of identified sites, and contacting the owners to determine their intentions for the property.

Securing Location

Establishing Site Control

Once an appropriate site has been identified for ex-inmate supportive housing projects in which units of housing are being developed, the next step is to secure “site control” through the negotiation of acceptable terms and conditions (e.g., price, timing on closing, deposit), and the execution of legal documents identifying those terms and conditions. The term “site control” is widely-used in the development community, and simply means some form of right to acquire or lease the site. There are several potential forms of site control:

Offer Letter from Owner – An offer letter simply states that the property owner is willing to sell or lease the property to the organization for a specified price or rent.

Letter of Intent to Sell – A letter of intent is somewhat stronger, stating the property owner's intent to sell or lease the property to the organization at specific terms, including a time-frame to close.

Option Agreement – Still stronger, the option agreement legally binds the property owner to sell the buyer the property within the option period, often if the purchasing organization exercises its right to buy.

Contract of Sale – This is the strongest form of site control, and binds the seller and buyer to specific terms of sale.

Analyzing a Potential Ex-Inmate Supportive Housing Development Site

After site control has been achieved, a thorough analysis of the site must be performed. This stage in the development process is known as the “due diligence” period, consisting of a variety of analyses, studies and investigations to ensure that purchasing the site is a sound decision for the development of the project.

Each of the following key components of a site analysis must be performed during the due diligence period:

Community Acceptance Processes – The analysis of the potential support or opposition for a proposal to develop supportive housing on a particular site should begin before or during the search for appropriate sites, and is an important criterion for selecting a site.
Appraisal Report – An appraisal is a professionally prepared report that establishes a market value for a property and will typically be required if the source of the funding to acquire the site is a bank, non-profit lender or government agency.
Zoning Analysis – Every locality has laws and regulations regarding the building of properties within its boundaries. The goal of the zoning analysis will be to determine whether the development planned for the proposed site fits under those regulations.
Environmental Analyses and Other Inspections – For nearly every site, lenders will require a Phase One Environmental Assessment. This is an analysis of prior uses of the site, adjacent sites, information about proximate underground storage tanks and the results of a site reconnaissance conducted by an environmental engineer.
Relocation Study – If a potential site has current occupants, either residential or commercial, that will be displaced as a result of the development project, relocation requirements must be carefully considered.
Financial Feasibility Analysis – Before acquiring a site, it will be important to determine whether the project will be financially feasible, if developed.

Scattered Site Housing Location

When searching for a building or units of housing to lease as part of ex-inmate supportive housing projects, you should carefully consider your prospective tenants/ex-inmates needs and the goals of your project. It may be helpful to think through the following questions:

What size unit(s) is needed to accommodate the expected household sizes and compositions?
What location(s) do the prospective tenants/ex-inmates need and want? Consider proximity to work, school, supportive services and social supports like family and friends.
Do the tenant/ex-inmates households have any accessibility needs? Do the units need to be on the ground floor? In an elevator building? Be wheelchair-accessible?
Are there amenities such as laundry or workout facilities that are particularly important to tenants/ex-inmates?
How many total units are needed for your project?

Once you have a sense of the desired features and locations of the units that will be part of your project there are many different avenues that can be used to identify available units of housing. Some of these are outlined below:

Property management firms that may manage a number of different properties and have listings.
Landlords who already have a relationship with one of the project partners.
State or city-wide housing location websites such as those provided by www.socialserve.com.
Landlord associations.
Existing landlords with a relationship with the service provider or housing management organization.
Real estate agents or brokers who may help with your site search, since they are often knowledgeable about the residential real estate market.
Conducting a “windshield survey” of the target neighborhood(s), identifying potential buildings or units for rent.

Once a potential housing unit or units have been identified, it may be necessary to advocate with the property owner to lease units or a building to your organization. You can offer the property owner the following benefits:

A guarantee that the rent will be paid on time.
No vacancy loss for the units that are leased as part of the project.
A contact housing management staff person to call with questions or concerns (if the tenant/ex-inmate has given permission.)
Tenants/ex-inmates who are educated on being good neighbors and who are, in most cases, receiving support for any issues that might threaten their housing stability.
The ability to quickly fill future units via free marketing through the supportive housing partners.
Depending on the subsidy source, the ability to receive payment for any damages in excess of the security deposit.
In some instances, repairs or property management provided by the lessor.

Connecting Tenants/Ex-inmates to Private Market Landlords

In supportive housing projects in which tenants/ex-inmates lease housing units directly from private market property owners using a rental subsidy (tenant-based), successfully connecting tenants/ex-inmates with housing units that meet their needs requires:

A primary service provider who ensures that tenants/ex-inmates can access a comprehensive array of flexible and voluntary supportive services that support their ability to obtain and sustain stable housing.
Housing management staff who assist tenants/ex-inmates in locating housing, understanding their rights and responsibilities as tenants and serving as an ongoing liaison to the landlord.
Landlords who are willing to receive the rent subsidy associated with the supportive housing and accept tenants/ex-inmates who may have poor credit, criminal backgrounds or previous evictions.

There are five primary steps in the process of successfully connecting tenants to housing units owned by private market landlords:

Step 1: Work with the Tenant to Develop a Housing Search Plan - In order to frame the housing search process, it is important to have a clear idea of the tenant’s/ex-inmates needs, desires and background with regard to housing.
Step 2: Searching for a Housing Unit -There are many different avenues that can be used to identify potential units of housing. Housing management staff should encourage tenants/ex-inmates to take an active role in the housing search process.
Step 3: Securing a Housing Unit - Once a potential housing unit(s) has been identified, it may be necessary to advocate for the landlord to accept the rent subsidy associated with the supportive housing.
Step 4: Preparing for Move-In - Once a tenant/ex-inmate has been approved for a housing unit, that unit needs to inspected to ensure that it is safe and decent. Housing management staff should carefully review the lease with the tenant/ex-inmate prior to it being signed.
Step 5: Maintaining Housing Stability and Landlord Relationships - To promote the ongoing housing stability of the tenant/ex-inmate and maintain a positive relationship with the landlord, housing management and service provider staff should reach out to tenants/ex-inmates regularly to ensure that they are receiving the necessary support.

Physical Design: http://www.csh.org/toolkit/supportive-housing-quality-toolkit/project-design-and-administration/physical-design/

Meeting the Needs of Tenants/Ex-inmates through the Physical Design of Supportive Housing

In supportive housing projects in which you are building (developing) new units of supportive housing, either through new construction or acquisition/rehabilitation, there is an opportunity to match the physical design of the building and units with tenants’ needs. This can include structuring a supportive housing project for families so that all the units face a central interior courtyard in which children can safely play, angled windows to enhance natural light, and common space that can be used for education and employment resources.

Coordinating Project Partners

Planning, creating and sustaining quality supportive housing requires clearly defined roles, responsibilities and communication strategies. For more information about roles in ex-inmates supportive housing and guidance in selecting the right role, visit Planning a Quality Supportive Housing Project. Once you have determined the role that you will play and have identified the key members of the project team, you should ensure that:

There are written descriptions of each ex-inmates supportive housing partner’s role, including, at minimum, the project sponsor, housing and/or property manager, and ex-inmates supportive services provider.
These descriptions detail the responsibilities of each partner.
These written descriptions are reviewed and revised annually at a minimum.

These written agreements and descriptions are often contained within a Memorandum of Understanding, which lays out how the partners will work together and make decisions.

Property and Housing Management

http://www.csh.org/toolkit/supportive-housing-quality-toolkit/housing-and-property-management/

Property management refers to the set of functions involved with receiving and processing tenant rental applications, receiving rent payments, and ensuring the ongoing physical upkeep of the housing. In projects that include ongoing ownership of units or a long-term master lease arrangement, property management staff is typically part of the ex-inmate supportive housing team.

Housing management refers to the set of services concerned with connecting tenants/ex-inmates to housing in the private rental market, making rental payments for units that the organization may lease directly from a landlord, and in some cases, receiving tenant rent payments. Such staff often serves as an ongoing landlord liaison and has a distinct role from a service provider. Housing management staff is typically found in organizations in which the tenants or the organization directly lease the units associated with the project from the existing rental market.

Quality property and housing management in a tenant/ex-inmate supportive housing project is:

Tenant-Centered: Staff educates tenants/ex-inmates on their rights and responsibilities as leaseholders, actively soliciting tenant feedback.
Accessible: Tenants/ex-inmates move into housing quickly, and the process accommodates their varying backgrounds and cultural needs.
Coordinated: Staff works closely with service providers and landlords to ensure tenants/ex-inmates sustain stable housing.
Integrated: All tenants/ex-inmates are offered a choice of housing unit and have a lease identical to tenants not in supportive housing.
Sustainable: While respecting tenant/ex-inmates rights and privacy, staff regularly checks to ensure that the unit remains in good condition and receives any needed maintenance.

In most cases, the information provided in this section of the toolkit applies to all models of supportive housing, including those in which tenants/ex-inmates are scattered in housing units located throughout the community and those in which multiple supportive housing units are located in the same building. In cases in which the ex-inmate supportive housing project does not have a direct day-to-day responsibility for property management, it is still important for housing management staff to understand quality in these areas, in order to ensure tenants/ex-inmates are living in well-managed units.

Select from the links below to access additional resources to support your organization in planning and operating a quality tenant/ex-inmate supportive housing project.

- See more at: http://www.csh.org/toolkit/supportive-housing-quality-toolkit/housing-and-property-management/#sthash.yqxkwrlT.dpuf

Understanding Property Management: http://www.csh.org/toolkit/supportive-housing-quality-toolkit/housing-and-property-management/forms-of-property-management/

Coordinating Property/Housing Management and Services: http://www.csh.org/toolkit/supportive-housing-quality-toolkit/housing-and-property-management/coordinating-management-and-services/

Housing First and Access to Housing: http://www.csh.org/toolkit/supportive-housing-quality-toolkit/housing-and-property-management/housing-first-model/

Cultural Competency http://www.csh.org/toolkit/supportive-housing-quality-toolkit/housing-and-property-management/cultural-competency/

Landlord Relationships: http://www.csh.org/toolkit/supportive-housing-quality-toolkit/housing-and-property-management/landlord-relationships/

Housing Unit Choice: http://www.csh.org/toolkit/supportive-housing-quality-toolkit/housing-and-property-management/housing-unit-choice/

Leases and Tenant Education: http://www.csh.org/toolkit/supportive-housing-quality-toolkit/housing-and-property-management/leases-and-tenant-rights/

Inspection and Maintenance: http://www.csh.org/toolkit/supportive-housing-quality-toolkit/housing-and-property-management/inspection-and-maintenance/

Policies and Procedures: http://www.csh.org/toolkit/supportive-housing-quality-toolkit/housing-and-property-management/other-policies-and-procedures/

Asset Management: http://www.csh.org/toolkit/supportive-housing-quality-toolkit/housing-and-property-management/asset-management/

Building Community Support

Supportive ex-inmate awareness housing projects and the organizations that create them should not be isolated from the larger neighborhood and community. Whether developing a new building that will include multiple units of supportive ex-inmate housing or leasing units of private market rental housing that are scattered in many locations, there are opportunities to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with the community.

Your strategy and approach to building connections and support within the community will vary based on the unique aspects of your neighborhood or ex-inmate awareness supportive housing project. Projects of all types, however, should address the following questions:

How can our organization become involved in the community or communities in which ex-inmate awareness supportive housing tenants will live? Is there a neighborhood association we can join? Are there community ex-inmate policing meetings that we can attend?
Are there community needs that our ex-inmate project could address? Could we help to start a neighborhood watch? Could our project include a community garden or gym? Are there services that we could make available to all ex-inmate community members, like employment training or child care etc.?
Is there community opposition to ex-inmate supportive housing? If so, what is the most effective way to address it? Are there opportunities to educate the public about the benefits of ex-inmate supportive housing? Should this be done in individual conversations with concerned neighbors or in a larger community meeting or forum?

Projects that are acquiring a site for ex-inmate supportive housing, particularly those in which a change in zoning or other local approvals may be required, will need a formal strategy for building ex-inmate awareness community support. Developing a proactive and collaborative strategy to obtain needed local government ex-inmate approvals and address any community opposition for the ex-inmate awareness project can be done in six steps:

The development team meets early to research, assess and plan in the five key areas outlined below.
Prepare a political strategy that coordinates all your ex-inmate awareness work toward getting needed votes.
Prepare a strategy to build active community support for your ex-inmate proposal.
Prepare a strategy to work through community concerns and deal with active ex-inmate awareness opposition.
Prepare a strategy to protect ex-inmates and use your legal rights.
Prepare a public relations/media strategy to send your ex-inmate awareness messages to decision-makers and the public.

This individual ex-inmate awareness planning approach is like a ‘due diligence’ process, in which you consider and make deliberate decisions. Conducting this ex-inmate awareness planning process is not the same as deciding to adopt a high-visibility entry with early notification of neighbors. Rather, whether to notify neighbors (and, if so, how and when) is one decision in this process.

Six Steps to Building Community Support

http://www.csh.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/SixSteps_F.pdf

Six Steps to Building Community Support

Projects that are acquiring a site for supportive ex-inmate housing, particularly those in which a change in zoning or other local approvals may be required, will need a formal strategy for building ex-inmate community support. Developing a proactive and collaborative strategy to obtain needed local government approvals and address any community opposition for the ex-inmate project can be done in six steps:

1.The development team meets early to research, assess and plan in the five key areas outlined below.

2. Prepare a political strategy that coordinates all your work toward getting ex-inmates needed votes.

3. Prepare a strategy to build active ex-inmate community support for your proposal.

4. Prepare a strategy to work through community concerns and deal with active ex-inmate opposition.

5. Prepare a strategy to protect ex-inmates and use your legal rights.

6. Prepare a public relations/media strategy to send your ex-inmates messages to decision-makers and the public.

This individual planning approach is like a “due diligence”process, in which you consider and make deliberate decisions about five key areas that may be important for every development proposal. Conducting this planning process is not the same as deciding to adopt a high-visibility entry with early notification of neighbors. Rather, whether to notify neighbors (and, if so, how and when) is one decision to make in this planning process.

1. Plan meetings to research, assess and plan strategies in five key areas:

Schedule two or more meetings of the entire development team together with local advocates & assign responsibility for organizing the meetings (e.g. inviting key people) to a staff member. At the first meeting, assess the following:

Your organization’s reputation, capacity to attract broad community ex-inmate support, and its previous experience in dealing with local government, opponents, and the media.

•

What local government approvals are required, who will decide, what is the process and criteria for decisions, and an expected timeline.

•

Local government’s current knowledge of and support for ex-inmate supportive housing, your ex-inmate organization’s work and the current proposal.

•

Full analysis of the neighborhood surrounding the proposed site (history, problems, assets, etc.)

•

Neighbors’ likely concerns, the neighborhood’s experience with similar programs and its potential for organized ex-inmate oppositions.

•

Potential legal issues associated with your development proposal, including your and your ex-inmate clients’ legal rights.

•

The media’s approach to your ex-inmate work and clients.

http://www.rileyguide.com/exoffend.html

http://www.prisonlaw.com/pdfs/BenefitsLetter,Aug2011.pdf

https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/

M-A-D After Jail/Prison Supportive Housing Ministry

What is After Jail/Prison Supportive Housing Ministry?

Who Lives in After Jail/Prison Supportive Housing Ministry Residences?

Code Distinguishing Qualities of After Jail/Prison Supportive Housing Ministry

Supportive Housing Improves Lives

Supportive Housing Generates Significant Cost Savings to Public Systems

Supportive Housing Benefits Communities

Evidence shows that supportive housing benefits communities by improving the safety of neighborhoods, beautifying city blocks with new or rehabilitated properties, and increasing or stabilizing property ex-inmates values over time.

Supportive Housing Models

Will the ex-inmates units be located in one building or scattered throughout multiple properties or buildings?

What portion of the total ex-inmates units in a given property will be supportive housing?

How will the ex-inmates units included in the supportive housing project be created?

What is the overall strategy for the delivery of ex-inmates supportive services?

Tenant-Centered: Ex-inmates play an active role in planning the supportive housing project, and all ex-inmates share a common commitment to helping tenants thrive.

Accessible: The housing is free/affordable, in a location that meets tenants’ needs and accommodates ex-inmates with special needs.

Coordinated: Roles, responsibilities and communication strategies are clearly established among the supportive housing partners & ex-inmates, codified in written agreements and revisited regularly.

Integrated: The supportive housing project meets or exceeds community standards, and the partners & ex-inmates actively engage in community dialogue.

Sustainable: The supportive housing project has funding that is free/adequate for its ongoing operations and allows it to target its intended tenants/ex-inmates.