Homeless Shelter Use and Reincarceration Following Prison Release: Assessing the Risk Stephen Metraux, PhD Center for Studies on Addiction

In the past two decades both the homeless and the prison populations have grown substantially. These two phenomena may be interrelated insofar as the difficulties in reintegrating into the community may increase the risk of homelessness for released prisoners, and homelessness may in turn increase the risk for subsequent reincarceration. This study examines the incidence of shelter use and reincarceration among a cohort of 48,424 persons who were released, either outright or on parole, from New York State prisons to New York City in 1995-1998, and the extent to which various factors related to demographics, homelessness and criminal history contribute to the risk of experiencing either of these events. Results show that, within two years of release, 11.4% of the study group entered a NYC homeless shelter and 32.8% of this group was again imprisoned. Using survival analysis methods, time since prison release and history of residential stability were the most salient risk factors related to shelter use, and shelter use increased the risk of subsequent reincarceration. These findings support the view that homelessness is a substantial problem among released prisoners and is indicative of more general hardships faced upon reentry into the community. Policy implications of these findings are then discussed.