Because many formerly incarcerated people face homelessness during their reentry to the community, CCH works to address barriers to housing and jobs for those impacted by the criminal legal system.
Reentry
By:
chicoalition
Research demonstrates a clear link between criminal legal system involvement and homelessness, with troubling racial disparities seen in both the criminal and shelter systems. Those with criminal records are substantially more likely to experience homelessness than the public at large, and people who live on the street often face fines and arrest due to laws criminalizing loitering.
Reentry Project
CCH’s Reentry Project focuses on legislative reforms for fair reentry practices, increased access to housing and employment, and the provision of comprehensive support services for justice-involved individuals.
Managed by a steering committee of formerly incarcerated individuals, organizers, and advocates, one of the Reentry Project’s most significant victories was persuading Chicago (2013) and Cook County (2016) housing authorities to adopt a pilot program it designed, allowing select justice-involved people to access subsidized housing.
FACT
In 2021 Illinois became the first state in the nation to remove long-standing barriers that have prevented many people with criminal convictions from living in public housing.
Restoring Rights and Opportunities Coalition of Illinois (RROCI)
CCH’s Reentry Project joined with allies in 2015 to start the Restoring Rights and Opportunities Coalition of Illinois (RROCI), working presently with Cabrini Green Legal Aid and formerly with Community Renewal Society and Heartland Alliance. RROCI works on statewide reentry measures, enacting ten laws to date that support housing and jobs access, housing protections, and records sealing.
Successfully passed RROCI-advocated legislation includes:
- Four job-access bills in schools, park districts, and health care (2016)
- Two record-sealing bills (2017 and 2018)
- Adding a reentry protection to the Illinois Human Rights Act (2019)
- New housing-access and jobs-access bills (2021)
- Strengthened protections to support access to public housing (2023)
The post Reentry appeared first on Chicago Coalition to end Homelessness .
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