Opinion: Enhancing Access to Supportive Housing is Key to Criminal Justice Reform

“A person who is unhoused before incarceration is no less vulnerable after release. But our current policy treats time in jail as if it erases their homelessness. It doesn’t—it makes it worse.”

Every day, New Yorkers with mental illness or substance use disorder are discharged from Rikers Island with no place to go. Too many of our neighbors are trapped in a revolving door of homelessness, incarceration, and emergency hospitalizations. Each of these issues is deeply connected: homelessness is 10 times more prevalent among formerly incarcerated individuals than it is for the general public, and 50 percent of individuals on Rikers Island have been diagnosed with a mental illness.

Despite the well-documented link between housing instability and incarceration, most supportive housing programs in New York City currently require applicants to meet the federal definition of being chronically homeless. This definition mandates that an individual be homeless for 12 or more months in the past three years, or have four or more separate episodes of homelessness that total 12 or more months in the past three years—a timeline that can easily be interrupted by detention or incarceration. 

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In an effort to end and prevent homelessness, city agencies have mainly focused on helping people who are chronically homeless. However, being homeless for a long time is not the only sign that someone needs help. Even a brief jail stay can disqualify someone from supportive housing, especially people with serious mental illness or addiction.

When they’re released, they often have nowhere to go but the streets or a shelter. From there, they’re likely to return to jail, trapped in a cycle of harm. City law must catch up with reality. A person who is unhoused before incarceration is no less vulnerable after release. But our current policy treats time in jail as if it erases their homelessness. It doesn’t—it makes it worse.

An estimated 2,600 individuals detained on Rikers each year could greatly benefit from supportive housing, which is a proven model to reduce recidivism, decrease reliance on emergency services, and cut public spending.

That is why alongside advocates and those with lived experience, we have worked with experts in supportive housing to put forward Introduction 1100-2024, which would amend eligibility criteria for wholly city-subsidized supportive housing projects to include time spent incarcerated toward time spent homeless. This simple yet transformative change would remove barriers that keep thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers from achieving the stability they need to build their lives. 

The evidence in favor of expanding supportive housing eligibility is overwhelming. Studies have consistently shown that stable housing reduces reentry into the criminal justice system, minimizes reliance on costly emergency medical care, and improves long-term health and social outcomes. 

For example, Corporation for Supportive Housing has demonstrated that access to supportive housing significantly reduces the likelihood of re-incarceration and prolonged shelter stays, saving millions in public funds while fostering community stability. Furthermore, providing supportive housing for 2,600 individuals on Rikers annually who could qualify for programs would cost approximately $108 million per year—far less than the staggering $1.4 billion it costs to incarcerate these individuals. 

Expanding access to supportive housing is also essential to meeting New York City’s legal and moral obligation to close Rikers Island by 2027. Without adequate housing options, the city risks perpetuating the very conditions that contribute to high jail populations and repeated cycles of incarceration. 

The Independent Budget Office reported that one-third of individuals admitted to New York City jails in 2023 were experiencing homelessness before their incarceration. That same year, over 40 percent of people released to New York City from state prisons were discharged directly into city shelters. Without stable housing options, many of them will continue cycling through jails, shelters, and emergency rooms, at enormous costs.

A jail is not a home. It is a destabilizing, dangerous, and deeply expensive response to unmet needs. When individuals have access to safe, permanent housing, they are less likely to return to jail or rely on emergency services. 

Passing Introduction 1100 and ensuring that supportive housing is accessible to justice-involved individuals diagnosed with mental illness or substance use disorder is an investment in a safer, healthier and more just city. We must reduce our over reliance on incarceration and cannot afford to maintain policies that prioritize putting people in jail cells over housing. We can help break the cycle of homelessness and incarceration by ensuring that everyone who needs supportive housing can access it.

Carlina Rivera represents the 2nd Council District which includes Greenwich Village, Union Square, East Village, and Kips Bay.

Lauren Velez is the director with the Metro Team at the Corporation for Supportive Housing, focusing on advancing supportive housing initiatives in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.