People who recently left jail or prison sometimes struggle to pay for initial housing costs. A Cuyahoga County program is helping people pay for some of those immediate expenses.
The Cuyahoga County Office of Reentry a year ago published an eight-point plan outlining steps it would take in the next few years to help prevent evictions, house people who recently left jail or prison and pass Fair Chance Housing legislation so that property owners and managers can’t discriminate based on a person’s criminal background.
More than a thousand state and federal laws limit or prevent people convicted of crimes from accessing certain rights, benefits and opportunities. They’re called collateral sanctions or collateral consequences, and they can keep formerly incarcerated people from working certain jobs, getting approved for housing, volunteering or getting an education.
In February, the county put $100,000 toward the Rapid Reentry Housing Assistance Program to pay for one-time housing expenses.
The program requires people to have a form of income already since it’s short-term financial help. But for the group it’s intended to help, county reentry officials say the program is working well.
When Stephanie C. DeVincent learned about the program, she thought, “Finally there’s some funding out there to help these folks.”
DeVincent is the program administrator at North Star Neighborhood Reentry Resource Center, the organization that manages the program and funds on behalf of the county. Before working at North Star, she worked at Oriana’s halfway house.
“I had a lot of clients that were working and then looking for housing, and then maybe they secured an apartment, and something like this would have been super helpful for them to take care of that first month,” she said. “And then give them a chance to keep saving some of the money that they had been making while they were working.”
How does the program work?
People who were released from a state prison, county jail, halfway house or correctional facility within the last 365 days are eligible to apply for program funding. Payments cover up to $720 of one-time costs, including overdue or first month’s rent, a deposit or help with utilities.
Applicants have to show proof of income and their current housing and utilities documents.
“We were trying to help reduce the homeless street and shelter population and allow for some stability for those coming back,” said Chamomile Ware-Hendricks, spokesperson for the Cuyahoga County Office of Reentry.
The application is on North Star’s website, or applicants can fill one out in person at the reentry resource center, at 1834 E. 55th St., with the help of an employee. People staying at the City Mission shelter can also work with their case manager there to fill out an application.
Once a person’s application is approved, North Star writes a check directly to the property owner or utility company.
The funds can also pay for a relative’s utility bills if an applicant is living with a family member and needs to help with housing costs, said Marcus Bell, Office of Reentry administrator. But the bill needs to be in the applicant’s name to qualify.
So far, 47 people have received funding, out of 102 that have applied. The county has spent about $50,000 of the $100,000 provided for the program.
The program doesn’t exclude people based on the crime on their record
The application doesn’t ask what a person has been charged with or any details of their criminal background.
“They already have enough barriers on them,” Bell said. “It’s not our job to add more barriers to it.”
However, landlords have to approve the rental application before the program distributes any funds, he said. Landlords can legally deny someone housing based on their criminal background.
According to Enterprise, an organization that works to increase housing supply and reduce racial inequities for people trying to find a place to live, one in five people nationally who leave prison become homeless. In Cuyahoga County, 48% of people booked into county jail had a record in the Homeless Management Information System.
Office of Reentry employees talk to landlords about the importance of reducing barriers and renting to people with criminal backgrounds, Bell said.
“There’s a lot of landlords that will give somebody a second, third or fourth chance,” Bell said. “Is it enough? Absolutely not. It’s never enough of anything, but there are a nice amount of landlords throughout Cuyahoga County that are willing to accept funds on behalf of a client, willing to rent to a client.”
DeVincent said landlords who know the population North Star serves will let her know how many units they have available.
But it’s going to take time for more people to understand that a person’s criminal record is not an indicator of how good or bad of a tenant they will be.
“People are people. Maybe they’ve made a mistake. Maybe they didn’t. You know that’s not for us to judge,” DeVincent said. “They know this is somebody who needs a place to live. Everybody’s entitled to live somewhere safe.”
