On December 13, the CHFN-CoI and the Housing First Europe Hub (the Hub) held its first webinar in the 2022/2023 International webinar series on Housing First! This session focused on Housing First and the criminal justice system.
Housing First participants often have co-occurring involvement with the criminal justice system, but the nature of the intersection between housing and criminal justice is not well understood. In this webinar, presenters from Canada and Europe shared new data and ideas about how best to meet the needs of Housing First participants who have had involvement with the criminal justice system.
Live event date: Tuesday, Dec 13th, 2022
View the webinar recording and download the webinar slides (PDF):
Panellists included:
- Lindsay Mesa, Assistant Director, Pathways Vermont, USA
- Amanda Bloxsome, Housing First Best Practice and Partnerships Lead, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, UK
- Mikko Aaltonen, Professor of Criminology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies, Law School; Research Director, Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy, Center for Population, Health and Society, University of Helsinki, Finland
- Marichelle Leclair, PhD Candidate and CIHR Vanier Scholar, Université de Montréal, Canada
- Discussant: Deborah Quilgars, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Housing Policy, University of York, UK
Resources from panellists:
- Homelessness among released prisoners: Trends, risk factors and association with recidivism. MIKKO AALTONEN, JANNE KIVIVUORI, SASU TYNI, MARTTI LEHTI, MIIALIILA VIRTANEN. Full paper is only available in Finnish. Abstract: Prior research shows that prisoners comprise a socially disadvantaged group, and that their risk of homelessness is high compared to the general population. There is, however, little quantitative empirical research focusing specifically on homelessness among released prisoners in Finland. In this article, the authors use register-based data on all Finnish prisoners released from prison between 2000–2015, to provide new information on trends of homelessness and factors associated with homelessness, as well as to examine if homelessness at the time of release is associated with a higher risk of recidivism. The authors use two measures of homelessness: One is based on data from the Population Information System, the other on data collected by the Criminal Sanctions Agency prior to release. The results show that end-of-year homelessness rates have been stable during 2000–2015, the average being around 27 per cent. Homelessness rates are highest among prisoners residing in the Uusimaa region. Young age, male gender, a high number of prior prison sentences and being outside the labour force are factors associated with a higher risk of homelessness, whereas homelessness is associated with a higher risk of recidivism even after controlling for these factors. Although the causal effect of homelessness on recidivism remains uncertain and difficult to study with observational research designs, it is evident that housing of released prisoners is a crucial question in terms of both social and criminal policy.
- The Impact of Housing First on Criminal Justice Outcomes among Homeless People with Mental Illness: A Systematic Review. (2019). Marichelle C. Leclair, Félicia Deveaux, Laurence Roy, Marie-Hélène Goulet, Eric A. Latimer, and Anne G. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, Volume 64, Issue 8, Pages 525-530 Crocker. Available here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0706743718815902
- Beyond housing: The heterogenous effect of Housing First on the criminal involvement of people living with a mental disorder. (in press). Leclair, M.C., Latimer, E. A., Lemieux, A. J., Roy, L., Nicholls, T. L., & Crocker, A. G., Mental Health in Quebec, 47(1). Available here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366227933_Beyond_housing_The_heterogeneous_effect_of_Housing_First_on_the_criminal_involvement_of_people_living_with_a_mental_disorder
For past sessions in this webinar series, visit: https://kmb.camh.ca/eenet/resources/international-webinar-series-on-housing-first