The Reentry Project is managed by a committee of people who were formerly incarcerated, as well as service providers, lawyers, educators, and advocates. They work on addressing barriers to community reentry, with focus on better public policies for women and men coming out of prison.

In April 2010, the Reentry Project released a position paper -- Barred from Housing -- that challenged the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) to make its Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program accessible to people with criminal backgrounds. The paper was the product of a two-year study that included committee interviews with researchers and government officials. Upon its release, the Reentry Committee hosted an ally meeting attended by more than 50 people. The position paper was introduced to the community, feedback was solicited from allies, and we strategized about our next steps.

As of mid-July, 107 providers, non-profits and political leaders have endorsed our CHA position paper.

In late May 2010, six members of the Reentry Committee, including CCH organizer Drea Hall, met with the CHA's chief executive officer, Lewis Jordan. The meeting proved a great start to building a working relationship with the CHA, from which we have requested quarterly meetings with CEO Jordan. CHA staff agreed to meet with the Reentry Committee within 90 days, and offered initial feedback to the paper. 

The Reentry Committee is moving forward in asking for changes to CHA policies barring residents with criminal backgrounds. If you are interested in joining our effort, or want more information, please contact organizer Drea Hall at drea@chicagohomeless.org   

Starting the Reentry Project

In 2006, CCH hired community organizer Andrea Hall. Her mission was to organize ex-offenders and prostitution survivors, many of whom struggle with homelessness and job barriers. Drea is trained as a social worker, including a master's from Washington University. Drea also has a personal connection with people who are homeless. As she wrote in her CCH orientation paper:

“Homelessness and housing have always been a concern for me. Not only because I want to fight for the human right to housing, but also because I experienced being homeless firsthand. Raised by a single Jamaican mother, I was considered a highly mobile child, moving from place to place or with friend to friend, living in a shelter as early as 5 years old and as late as age 15. At the time, I really didn’t understand why this was happening to us, but as I became older I realized that there were certain issues and barriers that came in the way of our stability.”

Leaders on the Reentry Committee include Johnnie Lee Savory, 45. Paroled in December 2005, Johnnie was freed after Northwestern University’s Center on Wrongful Convictions worked to overturn his 1977 murder conviction. Johnnie was 14 when he confessed after being questioned by Peoria police for two days without a lawyer or his parents.

“I like everything in the fight against injustice,” Johnny said, when asked why he works as a CCH leader.

In its first year, the Reentry Project and CCH's Prostitution Alternatives Round Table (PART) secured two legislative victories. Leaders made 10 trips to Springfield to advocate for the First Offender Probation law and the SMART Act. The SMART Act (House Bill 2734) created county-run drug diversion schools for people charged with low-level drug offenses. Reentry leaders also helped convince legislators to enact First Offender Probation (Senate Bill 75). The 2007 law allows judges to offer probation, with rehab services, instead of incarceration for people charged with felony prostitution -- a charge that is possible after just two misdemeanor convictions.