The jail to Skid Row cycle
South Park Studies: Homelessness
LEARN
A report recently released by the Prison Policy Initiative (PPI) showed that formerly incarcerated people are almost 10 times more likely to experience homelessness than the general public. After incarceration, people face additional barriers to finding housing and employment, and those challenges are even greater for those with mental illnesses. Earlier this month, LA County settled a federal lawsuit aimed at fixing the “jail to Skid Row” problem, and will begin offering expanded release planning for inmates with mental health issues. An estimated 1,875 to 2,250 people released each month will qualify for the program. Read more in this article from Mother Jones:
Los Angeles County Has Agreed to Try to Fix Its “Jail to Skid Row” Problem
Mother Jones, December 12, 2018When Derrick Thomas, a veteran in his 50s who’s been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, paranoid schizophrenia, and traumatic brain injury, was released from the Los Angeles County jail at 2 a.m. a few years ago, officers told him he’d be rearrested if he didn’t get off jail property. Thomas did not have a place to go, but just a short walk away from the looming jail buildings was Skid Row, the city’s roughly 50-block homelessness “containment” zone. That’s where he spent the night, under cardboard.
“It was cold as hell,” Thomas recalled in a video published by the pro bono law firm Public Counsel. On the night that he was let out of jail, Thomas received no information about community resources like counseling or housing assistance. He needed medication for his PTSD, but he’d lost his ID, and it took weeks before he could get a prescription filled. “We just get pushed to the curb,” he said.
In 2015, attorneys representing Thomas and seven other on-and-off-again inmates intervened in a federal lawsuit over the LA County jail’s treatment of inmates with mental health issues. They argued that even after the county had settled with the federal government, it was still not planning to do enough to help these inmates break out of the jail-to-Skid Row cycle.
Read the full article here.
GET INVOLVED
Volunteers can play a vital role in successful reentry. InsideOUT Writers teaches creative writing at three juvenile halls and eight prisons, and supports alumni with employment and other assistance. Click here to find out more about volunteering as a writing teacher, or hiring an InsideOUT alum.
Homeboy Industries provides support to gang-involved and formerly incarcerated people through workforce development, education, and more. If you’re a lawyer, teacher or tutor, mental health or medical professional, Homeboy needs your help. Click here to learn more.
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South Park Studies is a new initiative designed to bring you news and resources on the topics we hear questions about the most — homelessness, daycare and school availability, transportation, and more. Each topic, starting with homelessness, will consist of a multi-week series of article recommendations, volunteer opportunities, and more. Learn more about South Park by visiting southpark.la.
