A Criminal Record in Texas Can Leave You Homeless

Being homeless can happen to anyone who runs across the wrong luck at the wrong time. When you’ve worked hard at being successful, losing it all can be devastating and even end in a mental breakdown. Many people who have experienced this can easily end up homeless living on the streets. Their new circumstances often leads to committing crimes in order to survive.

Even if you didn’t begin by having it all, unchecked and untreated mental illness puts a lot of people on the streets of Texas. Eventually if they end up behind bars for a time, they receive treatment and counseling for whatever the condition is that prevented them from maintaining a roof over their heads to begin with. Any backslide can place them in jeopardy of committing another crime and needing a good criminal defense attorney.

The root of the housing problem is affordability

Whether or not mental illness is even at play, once inmates are released, they need the ability to hit the ground running by earning an income that will allow them to remain off the streets and out of trouble. When you’re convicted of a crime, especially a felony, finding employment can be very difficult. Most jobs you’ll be able to obtain, at least early on, will likely be low-paying hourly labor. This makes it incredibly difficult to locate affordable housing. Add to that any conditions on parole, such as where you can live, and your options narrow further.

Preventing a recurrence of homelessness

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) initially attempted to make it virtually impossible for those with certain criminal records to live in taxpayer-subsidized housing as stepping stones to eventual homeownership. The agency is now willing to permit those with convictions for nonviolent felonies and class A misdemeanors to apply for new low-income housing.

While this is a victory for some with criminal histories, those with more serious convictions for violent crimes and certain drug charges will still be banned for up to seven years after conviction. This group is the one that will have the toughest time finding gainful employment putting them at even higher risk of recidivism once they land back out on the streets.

These supportive housing developments are essential community resources offering the ability to engage residents in programs for:

• Mental health treatment
• Substance abuse recovery
• Peer support services
• Social services

Because these services can mean the difference between successful reentry into society or heading back to prison, former inmates need unfettered access. The Texas Homeless Network is adamant that the state eliminates criminal background screening on prospective tenants. Instead, the group suggests case workers can work out the details with project developers on a case by case basis.

Which convicts face the toughest homelessness battle?

Because of the documented inconsistencies in convictions of black and Hispanic people, the rules the TDHCA wants to implement with respect to criminal background checks will serve to prevent mostly those individuals leaving prison from obtaining affordable housing. Without the supportive housing, their chances of remaining crime free and turning their lives around reduce drastically. This means a state agency is putting this group into a higher risk category by denying them help.

Additionally, women who fled from domestic violence and wound up being charged with a crime in the process could also be excluded from qualifying for state-run low-income supportive housing programs. They are being re-victimized all over again due to circumstances they fled to save their own lives. Inability to obtain suitable housing also prevents these women from regaining child custody of any children they have who may have been removed as a result of being incarcerated.

Homelessness is a national crisis and eliminating it can go a long way toward preventing crime. In order to do that, former convicted felons need to be given a chance to show the system works and that they’ve been rehabilitated. This will only work if they are granted equal access to affordable housing and related programs.

If you or a loved one has been charged with a crime, the Killeen criminal defense attorneys of Mary Beth Harrell Law Firm want to help. Schedule a consultation in our Killeen or Copperas Cove office today by calling 254-312-2523, or we invite you to visit our contact page.