The homelessness issue is one that effects most communities and ours is no exception; so, when I was recently reading about a study done that showed that there is a direct relationship between homelessness and incarceration I wondered what initiative the our beloved provincial government had in place to ensure that their was a housing plan in place for newly released inmates. The study done by a U of G sociology professor Bill O’Gradey showed that at least 28 % of inmates didn’t have their own home before being arrested and 50 % of people interviewed didn’t receive any assistance preparing to reintegrate (most importantly in lining up a place to live). So, I wondered if these kind of holes in the system existed in hospitals and mental health facilities. If homelessness can lead to incarceration and visa versa, this is an important backdrop to consider when considering the homelessness problem.
I think that this type of planning, whether it be for inmates released from jail or mental health facilities, or for that matter hospitals in general be manditory for such institutions to ensure that those people are safe. In the case of offenders, this makes sense for the public at large because the study suggests that inmate released without housing plans usually reoffend. Maybe this would be a good question for our candidates? What measures have the government put in place to ensure that all inmates of jails and mental health facilities receive discharge planning prior to being released?