Providing Second Chances
America is a nation founded on the idea of second chances, yet we close doors that lead to a better life for a whole segment of the population. People with criminal convictions are stigmatized in the labor market and barred from specific jobs, unable to vote, and shut out of public housing.
But policies once rationalized as just desserts and good for public safety increasingly are viewed as counter-productive. Key arenas for creating second chances are in higher education and housing. What we’ve found: The payoff of bringing college back into prison, and using it as a sturdy bridge to support reentry. And that many people caught up in the justice system and then barred from public housing can live there safely with their families without compromising the safety of other residents—and that welcoming them is the smart thing to do.
Issues
Spotlights
Featured
Investing in Futures
Economic and Fiscal Benefits of Postsecondary Education in Prison
Efforts to build robust postsecondary education programs in prison have accelerated in recent years, with support from a broad range of groups from correctional officers to college administrators. This report describes how lifting the current ban on awarding Pell Grants to incarcerated people would benefit workers, employers, and states. Specifical...
Opening Doors to Public Housing
Expanding Access for People with Conviction Histories
Vera, which is guiding implementation of the largest public housing reentry pilot program in the country, is launching a national project to assist public housing authorities, community supervision agencies, and reentry service providers to work together to promote family reunification and successful reentry outcomes for formerly incarcerated peopl...
Project
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Margaret diZerega
College in Prison
Postsecondary education opportunities for incarcerated people
People involved in the criminal justice system have, on average, much lower education levels than the general population. Research suggests that education is key to improving many long-term outcomes for incarcerated people, their families, and their communities—including reducing recidivism and increasing employability and earnings after release. T...
Project
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Margaret diZerega
Related Work
(Returning) Home for the Holidays
As public attention grows to the difficulties people with criminal justice involvement face in securing housing, opportunities for reform emerge. We recently convened PHA representatives and local law enforcement partners from around the country in New Orleans to discuss how to move this work forward. And, Colorado’s Department of Local Affairs (DO...
Blog Post
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Byron Kline
Embracing Human Dignity
Annual Report 2018
Embracing Human Dignity
Annual Report 2018
The Vera Institute of Justice is working to radically transform incarceration in America by replacing punishing practices with an approach that prioritizes compassion, true accountability, healing, restoration, opportunity, and hope. Learn more about our commitment to human dignity in our annual report 2018.
Reimagining Prison
Reimagining Prison Webumentary
Providence Housing Authority Addresses Reentry
Following this reversal, the Providence Housing Authority began to actively review its role in reentry reform and how the agency could proactively address this issue with the support of the PHA Administration, its Board of Commissioners, PHA residents, local elected officials, and community partners. For example, we were one of 14 housing authoriti...
Blog Post
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Marcela Betancur
Finding housing is hard—but for people leaving prison and jail, it’s almost impossible
We need to open doors for people reentering society, not shut them.
In recent years, however, there has been growing momentum to ease restrictions around housing for formerly incarcerated individuals. In 2017, Vera launched the Opening Doors to Public Housing initiative to expand access to housing for people with conviction histories. Now, with funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistan...
Blog Post
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Jack W. Duran
Opening Doors
Safely Increasing Access to Public Housing for People with Conviction Histories
For more than 600,000 people leaving prison and the nearly 11 million cycling through jails annually, research shows that safe, affordable housing is essential for them to succeed after they are released. While all public housing authorities (PHAs) must, by law, place lifetime exclusions on people who are lifetime-registered sex offenders or who ha...
Life in the Year After Prison
Prof. Bruce Western on Reentry
Professor Bruce Western talks about the issues formerly incarcerated people face upon reentry, the role of family support after prison, and how trauma challenges the ethics of punishment.
Series: Two Societies
Education: The Key to Equality
Vera recently led a five-year initiative in Michigan, New Jersey, and North Carolina—titled Unlocking Potential: Pathways from Prion to Postsecondary Education—that provided direction, funding, and expert technical assistance to these states to build up college programs in their state prisons. Vera facilitated partnerships between departments of co...
Blog Post
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Lindsey Price Jackson
Prison Education Saved My Life and Stopped an Environmental Cycle of Incarceration
Toward the end of my confinement, I applied to the University of Maine at Augusta and was accepted for admission with the help of teachers at the prison. I saved enough money to pay for one three-credit correspondence college-level course in psychology and earned an A at the end of the semester. This success empowered me to find other higher-ed opp...
Blog Post
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Aaron T. Kinzel
Beyond Second Chance Month
Let's Renew Our Commitment to Support Formerly Incarcerated People Every Day
More than 600,000 Americans return home from prison each year across the country to rejoin society with a desire to rebuild their lives. Yet, too often we close doors to this entire population as they grapple with the challenges that come with reentering their communities. Through barriers to things like housing, education, and employment, a forme...
Blog Post
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Jack W. Duran