New Grant Will Help Find Housing For Those Leaving Incarceration

Chief Judge Carl Ashley speaks to men at the Community Reintegration Center. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

Milwaukee County received a $1 million grant to help county residents find housing as they exit incarceration.

The funding comes from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) 2024 Smart Reentry: Housing Demonstration Project. The county’s Housing Division plans to provide re-entry services, including rental assistance, counseling and employment services for individuals facing homelessness upon their release.

In particular, the Housing Division plans to focus on helping homeless individuals find housing as they leave the county’s Community Reintegration Center (CRC), said Administrator James Mathy. The county plans to match the $1 million grant with $1 million in staff time and rental assistance over the next three years.

The county is partnering with local nonprofits Community Advocates and My Way Out. Ruben Gaona, who was formerly incarcerated, founded My Way Out. The organization focuses on providing re-entry support. Community Advocates specializes in housing issues for a broad spectrum of needs.

“So they’ll be doing some more work in the credible messenger area and working with individuals, placing folks into housing and employment services,” Mathy told county supervisors on the Committee on Health Equity and Human Services Thursday.

The Medical College of Wisconsin will evaluate the program’s success, tracking outcomes for participants. One goal is to reduce the recidivism rate for residents exiting the CRC.

The program will “dovetail” with another housing initiative focused on persons exiting incarceration, Mathy said. Recently, the county was awarded a $375,000 grant by the MacArthur Foundation to begin planning new reentry housing. Once finished, the county will be eligible for up to a $5 million loan from the foundation to build the housing.