This section explains the necessary “base of operations” housing provides; it is the very foundation on which people who have been released from prison are able to rebuild all the other aspects of their lives.

It is during the initial post-release period that having access to safe and stable housing is most critical to an individual’s ability to succeed in the reentry process. As legal scholar Anthony C. Thompson explains:

The concept of stable housing upon reentry as providing a “necessary base of operations” has a critical social-emotional meaning as well as a practical one. With this connection in mind, Enterprise Community Partners developed a housing bundle framework in the context of upward economic mobility that also serves as a useful means of describing the qualities necessary for housing to be considered a solid base of operations for successful reentry:

• Stability: protects against unwanted moves, disruption.

• Quality: promotes physical and mental health.

• Affordability: provides security without major financial burden.

• Neighborhood context: offers the opportunity to thrive.

• Housing that builds assets and wealth: creates viable pathways to economic security.

Leah Faria, a formerly incarcerated woman who is now a successful leader in the reentry field, describes the mix of logistical and emotional challenges she faced when leaving prison and needing safe, stable housing to be able to accomplish other immediate tasks to gain life’s necessities:

As Vilma Donovan, who was also formerly incarcerated, explains, “Having a key to your own place to rest your head is the most important thing when you come home from prison. Especially when you’re doing everything that you’re told to do to re-enter society.”

Ms. Donovan was fortunate to have a “necessary base of operations” through The Fortune Society’s Fortune Academy. Supportive housing enabled her to participate in programs, comply with all conditions of parole, and ultimately obtain full-time employment. She rebuilt her life and was ready to live successfully on her own. Unfortunately, it was a battle to do so. Ms. Donovan was first subjected to the emotional toll of being repeatedly rejected for permanent housing due to her conviction history, including being told by one particularly callous landlord that nobody would ever rent to her because she was “a felon.”

It felt like all of her hard work would ultimately mean nothing if she was going to wind up homeless and at risk of relapse and restarting the cycle of substance use and incarceration. Fortunately, a friend of a friend connected her to a landlord who, rather than focusing on her record, focused on what was important: her ability to pay rent and her ties to the community (V. Donovan, personal communication, March, 2023).

Private landlords and property management companies play a critical role in promoting successful reentry and community safety. Person by person, we can improve public safety, reduce segregation and ultimately manifest housing as a pathway to justice.