Locked Out: Housing, Justice, and the Fight for Belonging

Housing barriers for people with legal histories and how reentry programs can work to combat those barriers.

Across the United States, the housing crisis has reached unprecedented levels. In January 2024, more than 770,000 people experienced homelessness, representing an 18 percent increase from 2023.

This surge is not the result of isolated circumstances but the product of structural barriers: stagnant wages, rising rents, a shrinking supply of affordable housing, and policy choices that treat housing as a commodity rather than a necessity. Housing insecurity has become a defining feature of American life, exposing cracks in a system that fails to provide what should be considered a basic human right.

Read the report in the book below.