BLOG: How can having a house help reduce crime?
Breaking the link between homelessness and offending helps people address the root causes of anti-social behaviour and move away from crime – and according to Jesuit Social Services’ Housing Programs Manager Kane Apelu, it all starts with a house, a helping hand, and the self-worth to see it as home.
The justice-involved young people Kane Apelu works with are resilient and resourceful – but without stable housing, often miss out on the opportunities they need to get their lives on a different pathway.
“If a person is experiencing homelessness, the last thing on their mind is about how to address their underlying issues,” he says.
“What they’re focusing on is where they can safely sleep for the night.”
Research and experience tell us there’s a clear link between homelessness and involvement with the criminal justice system.
People without homes are more likely to engage in what’s known as ‘survival crimes’, like stealing, to meet their needs, and are more likely to be seen and caught by police while they’re doing it.
And people already in the justice system are more likely to be homeless as they come out, because of the challenges they face in finding work and accommodation with a criminal record.
It’s tough – but it means if you can connect a young person with a home, you might be able to interrupt that cycle, help the young person address the root causes of their offending behaviour, and leave crime behind.
The three programs Kane oversees provide stable accommodation and support with independent living in the community to young people involved with the justice system – many of whom Kane says have experienced trauma and neglect, live with neuro-diversity or disability, and are involved with the out-of-home-care system.
“They’ve had limited or no experience around housing stability, or a place to call their own,” he says.
“In our programs there’s a real focus on developing independent living skills, connecting into pro-social activities, and trying to shift the views and perspectives of young people about what a shared living environment looks like, and what it feels to value your space and value yourself.”
Kane says his teams often encounter young people have replicated in the community their experience of institutionalisation from detention – cramping all their belongings together in one corner of a room to mimic the size of a cell, for example, or guarding sentimental items close-by to prevent loss or theft.
He says returning to a less rigid and restricted life in the community requires a gradual transition through supported housing – plus the support of the whole community to challenge harmful stereotypes about people experiencing homelessness.
“It’s a basic human need to have a home, to feel like you have a place that you can call your own, to feel safe, and to really flourish,” says Kane.
To improve circumstances for young people and support their pathways out of the justice system, Kane argues for more houses, stronger support, and a way to build self-confidence.
“We need to build more houses, and not just houses, but to have support in place to develop people’s views about their self-worth and self-value. So it's not just the house anymore, with shifting that physical aspect of it, in a psychological sense, to it being their home.”
This conversation is adapted from the Worth A Second Chance podcast.