Imagine being incarcerated for a short time due to a minor crime such as petty theft, mischief or trespassing. During that period, your world unravels. Your income support is cut off, you lose your job and your government assistance ends when you enter the justice system.
By the time you’re released and hoping to make a fresh start, you’re left with nothing but the clothes on your back, no income to secure housing or food, and a criminal record that serves as a substantial barrier to employment and stable housing. What do you do next?
This devastating scenario is the harsh reality for many — a reality that often leads to a cycle of homelessness and a piercing desperation to survive that results in further problems within the justice system.
Recently, researchers from the John Howard Society of Ontario teamed up with the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness to put together a research report called Locked Up. Locked Out. The Revolving Door of Homelessness and Ontario’s Justice System.
This report delves deep into how involvement with the justice system contributes to and perpetuates homelessness. Although many in the sector could share an abundance of stories and frustrations they’ve had with assisting individuals to find housing after a brush with the law, there was little research in Canada around the subject.
Through hundreds of surveys and interviews, the report explored the experiences of individuals with histories of justice involvement and homelessness. It also surveyed service providers to better understand the unique challenges previously incarcerated individuals face and to identify potential solutions moving forward.
The study highlighted five main themes, but a few particularly stood out. One alarming finding was that involvement with the justice system is a leading cause of housing loss. Incarceration not only causes homelessness but also perpetuates it, with many individuals facing inadequate pre-release planning that leaves them struggling to find housing upon release.
The report revealed many individuals had stable housing before their incarceration, but that number drops dramatically after release.
“I’m homeless all the time. I come from jail. I start from scratch. I’m released with the clothes on my back. That’s it. I start from scratch. Finding housing takes forever, man. I’ve never ever come out and been able to find a place just like that. Not even a room,” said a study participant with lived experience.
The report concludes with several crucial policy recommendations. Foremost among these is the urgent need for dedicated affordable housing tailored to the unique needs of justice-involved individuals.
Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of investing in reintegration strategies that strengthen release planning and the need for adjustments to social assistance programs that would allow individuals to retain their housing if their incarceration is short-term.
Housing is a human right. It’s not a right for some but for all.
For individuals who have paid their debt to society, we need to support them in moving forward with their lives by investing in programs that will help them to overcome the barriers outlined in the research. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it’s also the more economical way to do it. Keeping individuals in emergency housing, hospitals, or jail is costly and unsustainable.
In contrast, providing affordable housing with the necessary support services allows individuals to stabilize their lives, find employment, return to education, and reconnect with their families, at a fraction of the cost.
Programs like Blue Door’s social enterprise, Construct, offer a proven pathway out of homelessness. Construct equips vulnerable individuals with the skills and opportunities to build a stable career in the skilled trades. By providing training, mentorship, and job placement, Construct helps break the cycle of poverty and homelessness, enabling participants to regain their independence and rebuild their lives.
By addressing the systemic issues that link the justice system and homelessness, we can break the cycle and give justice-involved individuals the chance to move forward, rebuild, and contribute to society once again.
The time to act is now. Learn more about how the justice system and homelessness are directly linked by checking out the full report, from which much of this column was pulled.
Michael Braithwaite is the CEO of Blue Door, host of the housing and homelessness podcast On the Way Home, board chair of the youth homelessness-focused organization A Way Home Canada, and a tireless advocate for people experiencing homelessness.
