Kinship Reentry Housing Program

This new pilot program aims to address two intertwined challenges for people returning from incarceration: safe and stable housing and reintegration with loved ones in the community.

Based on the "kinship foster care" model that allows relatives who are fostering children to receive the same support that unrelated foster parents receive, Kinship Reentry addresses the underlying challenges that may discourage families from offering people coming home from prison a safe place to land. The program offers families direct cash payments, counseling, and support services they need to provide stability to returning loved ones. As part of that support, peer workers who draw from their own experiences welcoming a loved one home, work with families to understand and address the effects of prison and reintegration challenges. In addition to diverting people from shelter beds that would cost the City at least five times more, this solution reinforces what we already know, that people who return to supportive home environments have the best chance to rebuild their lives and thrive after incarceration.