In the United States, we talk a lot about ending homelessness and reducing mass incarceration, yet we fail to address how deeply interconnected these crises are. The Prison Policy Initiative recently highlighted a grim reality: formerly incarcerated people are 10 times more likely to experience homelessness than the general population. If we are serious about public safety, justice, and housing solutions, we need to stop criminalizing poverty and start treating housing as a fundamental right.
For too many, incarceration is not just a consequence of homelessness—it’s a cause. Upon release, many formerly incarcerated individuals struggle to find stable housing due to:
- Discriminatory housing policies that allow landlords to deny rental applications based on criminal records.
- Public housing restrictions that bar people with past convictions from accessing government-assisted housing.
- Employer discrimination, making it harder for returning citizens to secure jobs and afford rent.
- The lack of reentry support, forcing many to cycle through shelters, unstable housing, or straight back into incarceration.
The system sets people up for failure. Without housing, people are at greater risk of being rearrested for low-level offenses like loitering, trespassing, or public camping—in other words, for simply existing in public spaces with nowhere to go.
Instead of investing in long-term solutions like housing and employment programs, many cities have doubled down on criminalizing homelessness. Laws banning public camping, sleeping in cars, and panhandling do nothing to address the root causes of housing insecurity—they only push people further into the system.
Arresting and jailing homeless individuals comes at a significant taxpayer cost. A 2020 study found that it costs more to jail a person experiencing homelessness than it does to provide them with stable housing. When cities spend millions on law enforcement sweeps and incarceration instead of supportive housing, they are not solving the problem—they are making it worse.
Housing First: The Only Approach That Works
The Housing First model—a policy that prioritizes providing stable housing before requiring treatment or employment—has been proven time and time again to reduce homelessness and lower incarceration rates. Cities like Houston and Salt Lake City that have invested in Housing First strategies have seen dramatic reductions in chronic homelessness.
The solution isn’t complex: give people stable housing, and they are far less likely to end up back in jail. Studies show that formerly incarcerated individuals with stable housing are significantly less likely to reoffend. When people have a safe place to sleep, access to healthcare, and a chance to build stability, they are far better positioned to rebuild their lives.
If we truly want to address the homelessness crisis and the injustices of mass incarceration, we need policies that:
- End blanket bans on housing for people with criminal records.
- Expand funding for supportive housing programs for returning citizens.
- Stop treating homelessness as a crime and redirect law enforcement funds toward housing solutions.
- Invest in job training and reentry programs that provide real opportunities for stability.
We cannot arrest our way out of homelessness. We cannot punish people into stability. Housing is the foundation of public safety—and until we prioritize it, we will continue to trap the most vulnerable members of our society in an endless cycle of incarceration and homelessness.
The choice is ours. Do we keep fueling a broken system, or do we finally invest in real solutions?
I disagree with every conclusion and every assumption in this article. So completely a different colored lens of the world God has given each of us. Not even worth arguing about. Have a nice fortnight :-|
Cool – we hit the mark
From article: “In the United States, we talk a lot about ending homelessness and reducing mass incarceration, yet we fail to address how deeply interconnected these crises are.”
I don’t believe that most homeless people are the same as those who were sentenced to lengthy prison time for serious crimes.
That claim isn’t the point being raised here.
Two key pieces of data:
Data from the Prison Policy Initiative shows that formerly incarcerated individuals are 10 times more likely to experience homelessness than the general population.
In California, a 2020 state audit found that 70% of individuals released from prison without a stable housing plan ended up homeless within months.
Some (not me) might argue that’s a reason to keep them in prison. But again, unless you’re looking at the entire homeless population, we don’t know what “percentage” of the homeless population consists of “serious” criminals.
I’m not opposed to the concept of “housing first” – but I suspect that the way to make that work is to house such folks away from the general population. (The farther reaches of Houston come to mind.)