Well not surprising. If they spent many years in prison they probably lost their home and job, and if they don't have any family to take them in, where do you think they're going to go? In California, the Legislative Analyst's Office estimated in that 30 to 50 percent of parolees in San Francisco and Los Angeles were homeless (1999). https://www.centerforhealthjournalism.org/blogs/are-prison-release-practices-creating-homelessness A 2007 study by the Colorado-based Piton Foundation found that 36.7 percent of prisoners released on parole in the Denver area were homeless or living in homeless shelters. https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/new...a-significant-problem-for-released-prisoners/ In 2014, about 23 percent of those released from New York City State prisons went directly into the NYC shelter system. In 2017, there had been a dramatic increase to 54 percent. http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/todays-video-new-york-prison-shelter-pipeline/ Compare that to 16 years ago. A 2002 study by University of Pennsylvania researchers examined the incidence of shelter use and reincarceration among 48,424 people released from New York state prisons between 1995 and 1998, finding that 11.4 percent of respondents reported a stay in the shelter system, and 32.8 percent returned to prison two years after release. https://citylimits.org/2017/01/17/many-inmates-move-from-prison-to-shelters-despite-efforts-to-get-them-homes/ This study looked at 363 Canadian prisoners in the Toronto area. Among those who were not classified as homeless before incarceration, 16.4 percent anticipated being homeless upon release: http://homelesshub.ca/resource/homeless-and-jailed-jailed-and-homeless This article is from Australia: https://phys.org/news/2015-05-people-prison-homeless.html The Prison Doors Open And You’re Released. You Have No Money Or Transportation. Now What?
I was participating in a meeting hosted by advocates for the homeless. After an advocate defined "homeless" a state senator sitting next to me turned and said, "My god, I've been homeless most of my life and didn't know it." I said, "According to her, my son is homeless now."' For many coming out of prison the odds are against them. Many come out with the same substance abuse problems they had when they went in, the same lack of education they had when they went in, the same attitudes they had when they went in, and the same aversion to life in society. On the bright side, there's a good chance they won't be homeless long. They'll be back in government.quarters with three hots and a cot