By Joseph Perry
Constituents get out of a shelter with little if any support on the outside, facing one dead end after another. They go back out and find themselves back in the same situation, in an abandoned house and eating out of a garbage can.
Many of them return to impoverished neighborhoods, and are trapped once again in a cycle of homelessness, incarceration, health and mental crises. More often then not, constituents find themselves back in prison or jail for parole violation and quality of life crimes.
Taxpayers’ dollars are wasted as the status quo continues as constituents’ lives spiral out of control.
Of all issues facing constituents reentering the communities, I suggest that none is more immediate then the need to find a place to live. Without stable housing, returning to jail is almost a given in a system where homeless people find themselves arrested again and again for violation related to homelessness, untreated mental illness, and addiction.
In addition to the mind-boggling cost in lost of constituent’s potential, productivity and stability, and public safety, this state is spending thousands of dollars as the result of the shelter system’s failed policies.
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