New Initiative to Break Link Between Housing Instability and Incarceration

Tulsa has been selected as one of four communities/entities to participate in the launch of the Just Home Project, a national program launched by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and Urban Institute designed to advance community-driven efforts to break the link between housing instability and jail incarceration.

PartnerTulsa, Housing Solutions, Family & Children’s Services, and the Terence Crutcher Foundation worked on the grant application with extensive support from a broad range of community partners in behavioral health, housing policy, homelessness, and justice spaces to lay the foundation for this work.

PartnerTulsa’s selection includes an initial grant of nearly $370,000 from MacArthur to create a plan that addresses the impact of incarceration on housing instability in Tulsa, along with technical assistance and coordination provided by the Urban Institute.

Following a planning process, PartnerTulsa will be eligible to receive an investment from MacArthur from a pool of $15 million impact investment funds to implement plans and acquire or develop housing for populations that are not being served by current housing resources.

In addition to Tulsa, other communities selected for the Just Home Project include Charleston County, South Carolina; Minnehaha County, South Dakota; City and County of San Francisco, California. Each jurisdiction will work alongside key housing and criminal justice partners to develop and implement cross-organizational strategies to break the cycle of homelessness and ultimately incarceration in their communities.

All four communities will have the opportunity to receive additional support from MacArthur in the form of an impact investment, which expand MacArthur’s capacity to achieve its philanthropic goals.

By coupling grant funding with investment capital, this demonstration project seeks to unlock local government innovation, absorb risk that housing providers are hesitant to take, and provide much-needed support for people in danger of remaining trapped in a cycle of housing instability and jail.

Tulsa Partners

Housing Solutions is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to building systems that make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Housing Solutions is the lead agency for the Tulsa County HUD-funded Continuum of Care (CoC). The lead agency works with the community to implement the strategic plan while guiding local service providers to implement evidence-based practices through system changes. Learn more at housingsolutionstulsa.org.

Family & Children’s Services has been the place to turn for help with problems that seem overwhelming and too difficult to handle alone. The agency restores children’s well-being, heals victims of abuse, strengthens individuals and families, and provides hope and recovery for adults suffering from mental illness and addictions. Today it’s life-changing services help one in six Tulsans.

The Terence Crutcher Foundation’s mission is to create just and liberated communities free from racial violence and harm. The foundation builds power, policy advocacy, community development, and education, and engages community, law enforcement, and policymakers to identify, prevent, and confront racial inequities in Tulsa, Oklahoma and across the country by advancing policy, strengthening communities, and honoring the legacy of our ancestors.