CREP to Assess Connection Between Housing and Recidivism in Shelby County

October 9, 2024 – The Center for Research in Educational Policy (CREP) at the University of Memphis has been called upon by the Shelby County Office of Reentry (SCOR) to assess the impacts of a three-year initiative that aims to lower recidivism, the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend, in Shelby County by 5%. The Returning Neighbors program will work to provide housing support to a focused group of inmates and work to eliminate barriers for them to gain employment in hopes that this will play a part in them reentering the world as productive citizens.

“We are thrilled and honored to continue our partnership with SCOR and support their efforts to give opportunity and hope to those in prison looking for a path to a better future,” said CREP Research Director Dr. Todd Zoblotsky. “Their work to reduce recidivism will help make Memphis and Shelby County safer and stronger.”

A total of 200 inmates will participate in this SCOR study. These inmates live within Shelby County, are four to six months from release and are at a moderate to high risk of recidivism. All offense types will be eligible with the exception of sex crimes. Participants will be selected randomly from a pool of 500 currently participating or applying to participate in Project INK, a pre-release job training program.

Inmates will be divided into three groups for CREP’s monitoring purposes. One group will be given housing placement plus housing navigation and education (treatment). A second group will be given housing navigation and a stipend (treatment). The remaining group will just be given the housing navigation and education, but no housing placement or stipend (control). Shelby County is one of seven localities across the country to receive funding from the Department of Justice for what the agency calls “housing demonstration programs.” DOJ awarded SCOR just under $1 million ($999,101) for the Returning Neighbors program.

“This underscores the collective responsibility of Memphis and Shelby County to support justice-involved individuals to foster a safer, more just community,” SCOR said in their proposal. “Through the Returning Neighbor’s program, the anticipated result is a reduction in Shelby Couty’s recidivism rate from 24.5% to 19.5% over three years. SCOR and its partners aim to create a sustainable, scalable model for reentry that addresses systemic barriers, increases access to stable housing and reduces recidivism rates.

"Access to housing is a major component of successful reentry after incarceration," added SCOR Director, DeAndre Brown. "This grant allows us to provide referrals with resources that afford our clients housing and the agencies with the resources to provide excellent accommodations. I truly believe this grant will shift the paradigm and reduce recidivism is Shelby County."

Additional partners in this project include Seeding Success, the Hospitality Hub, Shelby County Division of Corrections, LifeLine to Success and HOPE Credit Union. CREP is a part of UofM’s College of Education and is one of 26 Centers of Excellence, according to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

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