AIDS Housing of Washington and Boston, 2005.
Summary:
Providing accurate statistics and helpful advice, From Locked Up to Locked Out is comprehensive while also accessible. It will be useful to those interested in both the practice and policy surrounding housing of ex-offenders. The manual could be read by a practitioner who is actively involved in this work and in need of current best practices, or by a group interested in better understanding the issues involved. Broken into six sections, the manual ends each section with questions for discussion that are intended to be used either interactively or individually.
The first section of the manual seeks to orient the reader to the current state of the criminal justice system by providing current statistics about the housing status of prisoners as they approach release. Highlighted here are the housing realities ex-offenders face when they exit the prison system and begin to look for a place to live. Section two covers the process that offenders go through throughout their time in prison and is intended to be a window into the life of contemporary prisons. Covered in this section are the issues of parole, what the correctional system offers in terms of housing, prison culture, negative attitudes towards society as a whole, and necessary qualities of a competent staff. Section three addresses the implications of prisoners with HIV, mental illness, addiction, and women’s issues. Section four encourages the reader to consider the importance of “in-reach” programs that seek to provide services to prisoners before their release date. Section five is intended for those who are operating housing programs for ex-offenders and addresses the issues of employment needs, reconnecting ex-offenders with family, restorative justice, life skills, and the issue of drug abuse. The final section is intended to encourage the reader to think critically about policy solutions to the problems aforementioned throughout the manual.
Why does FASTEN recommend this resource?
This manual is a valuable resource for those who are particularly interested in the combined problems of homelessness and prison re-entry. Largely for an urban audience, this manual addresses the major needs of prisoners as they emerge into society and look for a supportive housing situation. Anyone interested in either starting a housing program for ex-offenders or improving an existing program would benefit from consulting this resource.
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