NCJ Number
214572
Editor(s)
Rachel Moorhead
Date Published
2005
Length
211 pages
Annotation
Based on the experiences of those who have succeeded in providing housing services to ex-inmates, this book presents practical advice on how to create and implement such programs.
Abstract
The first section of the book explains the history of how the situations of ex-prisoners re-entering the community have become a crisis, how the prison system perpetuates it, and why postrelease housing is needed. The book's second section explains the features of the criminal justice system, how prison harms inmates, the culture of life in prison and how it influences adaptation to community life after release, and the condition of "gate fever," which is experienced by many ex-inmates in the first days after their release. "Gate fever" is a condition characterized by anxiety and irritability related to the many challenges, problems, and uncertainties about being able to manage their lives without the structured prison life that met their basic needs. Section three presents facts about illnesses and disorders that commonly afflict ex-prisoners and the implications of these conditions for the housing environment. This is followed by a section that addresses how to work with prison administrations to better prepare inmates for successful adjustment in the community after release, aspects of plans for developing new housing in the community, the contrasting strategies for postrelease housing, where to find funding, and how to resolve neighborhood opposition and other controversies related to ex-inmate housing. Section five presents concepts and strategies for how housing staff can best relate to and help ex-prisoners, and it describes the features of effective housing services. The concluding section presents ideas about how to change embedded systems in local communities that ignore or contribute to homelessness among ex-prisoners re-entering the community. Sections contain suggested readings, model programs, and discussion issues.