Adequate housing is the linchpin of successful reentry for offenders with mental illness.  Housing, especially when it is combined with support services, provides a stable base from which individuals can access treatment in the crucial days immediately succeeding release.  Every person with mental illness leaving jail or prison should have in place an arrangement for safe housing (or, at the least, shelter).

Unfortunately, locating suitable housing for their clients is one of the greatest challenges for discharge planners and community-based case managers (see Policy Statement 38: Housing).  They will need to know what type of housing arrangements are available in the communities they serve; how to make the appropriate connections between the offender and the landlord; and what provisions there are for indigents unable to pay the rent.  Perhaps even more important, the discharge planners and community case managers must know how to overcome explicit or implicit prejudices and exclusions based on either mental illness or criminal history.  For example, individuals convicted of certain violent, drug-related, or sex-related offenses are not eligible for federal housing subsidies. ^[1]     Transition planners are likely to encounter considerable resistance from private-sector individuals and agencies, and, to be effective, will have to assume the role of housing and social services advocate for the releasee.  At least one jurisdiction is developing a program to address this crucial issue.

All individuals with serious mental illness leaving jail or prison should be physically transported to their housing arrangement or shelter and provided with a short-term supply of medication and a prescription (or provision) for long-term supply.  In such cases, the mental health agency assigned to provide the offender with community services is the appropriate agency to provide transport from the jail or prison to the place where the offender will reside.