Too often, the poor and homeless are held unnecessarily at Rikers and other detention facilities simply because they are unable to afford bail or to give a stable address to authorities. In jail, they have access to few services, which impedes their ability to address mental health or substance abuse issues or acquire job skills. At the same time, the experience in jail can be traumatizing, exacerbating mental health challenges. Our transitional housing program supports them to fulfill their court obligations while getting the assistance that they need.
This program builds on HousingPlus’ previous experience with Drew House, the country’s first alternative to incarceration program for families, which began in 2009. We began testing the Justice Works model with a new demonstration project in 2017. After successfully diverting hundreds of women, the demonstration was deemed a success, and in 2022 the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) awarded a multi-year contract to expand the program to 159 units, 18 of which are devoted to pregnant women or families. HousingPlus leads a consortium of five organizations, including Greenhope Services for Women, Hour Children, Providence House and New Hour for Women to provide these units.
“When I was in Rikers, I thought I’d never be able to live with my children again,” says Sophia. After being detained for a year, she lived in crowded NYC shelters. Since moving to HousingPlus in 2022, she’s received ongoing therapy with our Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and through a weekly support group. Her hard work has paid off & she now has regular weekly visitation with her children and is working toward joint custody. Sophia has come a long way: “I’m grateful for HousingPlus – I don’t know where I would be if I wasn’t here.”
Transitioning to Permanent Housing
Because transitional supportive housing is intended to be temporary, one of its key goals is to help participants to transition to permanent housing. This can involve helping them to access other types of financial assistance and carrying out evaluations needed for placement in permanent supportive housing programs. A recent addition to this suite of services is our Rapid Rehousing Program which assists women, non-binary and gender expansive individuals coming out of the criminal justice system and alternative to detention programs to secure permanent housing using government assistance vouchers and supplementing these with case management and wrap around services for up to two years to ensure that they can achieve housing stability. HousingPlus serves 70 households per year with the Rapid Rehousing Program.
