Winter 2020

CDFIs and nonprofits are figuring out how to help formerly incarcerated people build credit histories and access capital in order to get their lives going.

If you have an arrest or conviction record, you’ll most likely have a difficult time finding a place to rent. A new law in Cook County aims to protect potential tenants from housing discrimination.

Art that highlights the effects of long-term sentencing and the need to support and expand services for those who are reentering society.

How do we balance the need to provide job training to those incarcerated with the need to ensure that prisoners are not exploited for their work?

Many people lose their right to vote while incarcerated and don’t regain it after their sentences are over. There are many more people involved in the justice system who can vote but don’t know it. Communities could increase their political power if they could reach these voters.

Shelterforce spoke with 2019 MacArthur fellow Lisa Daugaard about how her work in homelessness set her on her path, and how diversion programs can build political will to increase support for affordable housing and public health.

The dual challenge of reducing housing instability and incarceration rates is no easy feat. But there are promising strategies available that could help alleviate the complex problems.

After 26 years, Harold Simon will be stepping down from his role as Shelterforce’s executive director and publisher on May 8, 2020.

Chances are high that community developers are working in areas and with populations that are being strongly affected by overpolicing and hyper-incarceration. In this issue we take a look at that intersection.

As rents have been rising, organizing for rent regulations have gained steam. However, the terms used to describe rent regulations can be unclear.

Tenant organizing has been re-energized in coastal cities where housing costs are soaring. But tenants need a voice in the rest of the country too—and they are organizing to get one.

Formerly incarcerated people are nearly 10 times more likely to be homeless than the general public. The Homecoming Project imatches those returning home with a community host for six months.