“Life is easier now—my refrigerator is full of food and my kids don’t have to worry,” said Quentein, a 33-year-old READI Chicago participant and father of 4-year-old twins. “They were jumping for joy when we moved in.”
Like many READI participants, one of the barriers to safety and economic opportunity Quentein was facing when he joined the program was housing instability. He and his children were couch surfing and because he had a criminal record, even though it was nearly a decade old, landlords didn’t want to rent to him.
Quentein and his children were able to secure stable housing through the Housing for Justice Initiative (HJI), a pilot program of Heartland Alliance aimed at increasing community safety by housing those at the highest risk of violence involvement.
“You can’t expect people to be safe in their environments if they’re living in unsafe places or unstable situations,” said Susie Schoenrock, one of Heartland Alliance’s housing solutions specialists. “Now, Quentein knows his children have a safe place to come home after school, and he knows he can take care of them.”
To truly disrupt the cycles of violence and poverty, HJI connects participants at the highest risk of gun violence to housing through referrals from READI Chicago. Susie then works with the men to self-determine where they want to live and to set long-term goals, which often include things like building credit and working toward financial stability.
Susie said it’s usually not one single thing keeping READI participants from stable housing. Like gun violence, the causes are complex, systemic, and intermingling. The most obvious barrier is a criminal record, but if someone was incarcerated that means they weren’t building up their credit during that time and may have a limited rental history. Any of these things individually might give a potential landlord pause, but together, the application will be immediately passed over.
“Illinois’ Just Housing Amendment should minimize criminal background as a barrier, but there’s no real accountability—landlords still see everything that’s in someone’s background check and can make their mind up right then,” Susie said. “It makes a difference that the participant isn’t alone, though—their name is on the lease, but they come with the full support of Heartland Alliance behind them.”
Susie works with landlords along the way to understand HJI and the supports it provides. Once a participant has signed a lease, the initiative also furnishes the apartment, provides ongoing landlord mediation, and works with the participant to continue increasing their economic opportunity. The goal is for participants to achieve enough financial stability to maintain their lease independently after their rental subsidy ends.
