Dear Pamela,
Millions of people return to their communities from jails and prisons every year, but they face significant obstacles to finding safe, affordable housing.
Vera's Opening Doors to Housing initiative works to increase access to housing for formerly incarcerated people. Aligned with that work is PIVOT, a Baltimore-based nonprofit that helps women rebuild their lives after incarceration. Through housing support, emotional healing, and community, PIVOT ensures that a woman's past doesn't define her future.
"Returning from the criminal justice system, it's hard. And, in Maryland, there is no halfway house for women. Even individuals without a record, it's sometimes hard to obtain adequate housing where you can be safe, where it's affordable," said Ashley McKinnon, executive assistant at PIVOT. |
Policies that exclude people with arrest or conviction histories from accessing housing are counterproductive and do not make our communities safer. |
These barriers contribute to a cycle of homelessness and incarceration and make it difficult for formerly incarcerated people to adjust to public life again.
Alongside advocates, other experts, and policymakers, Vera is committed to removing barriers to housing to ensure that those impacted by our unjust criminal legal system get a real opportunity to reenter their communities and succeed.
In solidarity,
Vera Institute of Justice
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