Overcoming Public Opposition to Transitional Housing

• Author: Brett Garland,Eric Wodahl
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12317
• Date: 01 August 2017
• Published date: 01 August 2017

POLICY ESSAY

EMERGENCY SHELTER HOUSING

INTERVENTIONS

Overcoming Public Opposition to

Transitional Housing

Brett Garland

Missouri State University

Eric Wodahl

University of Wyoming

Scholars and practitioners alike recognize that unstable and substandard housing can

increase the risk of criminal behavior, especially for offenders recently released from

incarceration (Metraux and Culhane, 2004; Petersilia, 2001; Roman and Travis,

2004; Shlay and Rossi, 1992). Housing can serve as a protective factor against criminality in

several ways. For example, having comfortable housing can ease stressors that might inflame

criminal inclinations by affording a person a safe place to decompress and more effectively

deal with daily worries and obstacles (O’Brien, 2001). Housing can also serve as a refuge

to shield a person against pro-criminal and self-destructive influences that may be more

pronounced among homeless and transient populations. Securing employment, which is

often important for maintaining a crime-free lifestyle, may hinge on being able to provide

an employer with residential information (Rodriguez and Brown, 2003). Not to mention,

workplace performance may be hampered if a person is constantly preoccupied with housing

uncertainty, which in turn can lead to job loss and consequently heighten the risk of future

crime. Unstable housing can also make it more difficult for returning offenders to establish

connections with treatment providers, preventing them from accessing needed treatment

that is crucial during the reentry process (Bradley, Oliver, Richardson, and Slayter, 2001).

The American public also seems to recognize the importance of housing in reducing

reoffending. Public opinion polls indicate that a majority of U.S. voters perceive housing as

“very important” for successfully reintegrating former prisoners (Krisberg and Marchionna,

2006), and Massachusetts and Ohio residents indicated that transitional housing units are

effective in helping offenders resist criminal temptations (Brooks, Visher, and Naser, 2006;

Direct correspondence to Brett Garland, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Missouri State

University, 901 S. National Avenue, Springfield, MO 65897 (e-mail: BrettGarland@MissouriState.edu).

DOI:10.1111/1745-9133.12317 C2017 American Society of Criminology 879

Criminology & Public Policy rVolume 16 rIssue 3