Kim Gilhuly will be moderating a panel discussion, Housing Rights for People with a Criminal History, at the 2021 Fair Housing and Civil Rights Conference.
People with a record of incarceration, conviction, and arrest face steep barriers to finding affordable housing, due to screening requirements that - depending on the housing provider - can often end up as a blanket refusal with no consideration of the circumstances of their lives. For this reason, people who have been incarcerated have a 7 to 11 times higher risk of homelessness. This panel will discuss the barriers and impacts that people face along with innovative solutions that are happening around the country and in Massachusetts. Panelists will include housing providers who have tackled this issue, advocates, researchers, and people directly impacted by mass incarceration and its collateral consequences.
The Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts is currently conducting a Health Impact Assessment to explore the health impacts of changing practices around the use of criminal background checks in affordable housing decisions.
Learn more and register for the 2021 Fair Housing and Civil Rights Conference.
