FAQ

The Homecoming Project is an innovative program that provides daily subsidies to homeowners in exchange for providing living space to a person returning home from prison. The Homecoming Project leverages extra living spaces within Alameda, Contra Costa, and Los Angeles Counties to provide a welcoming initial home for people who have served lengthy prison terms and who will benefit greatly from the six months of free housing, the relationships they form with their hosts, and the individually-tailored assistance that the program provides.

The Homecoming Project also leverages the potential of the sharing economy, but in this case we specifically  house people returning home from prison. Project staff assess the needs and preferences of each participant and match them with suitable hosts. Staff also screen hosts and their homes for nurturing environments that will accommodate a vulnerable individual going through a challenging life transition. Both host and participant get to know one another through matching sessions before the match is finalized in order to create a compatible co-housing situation. While Airbnb renters pay their hosts directly, the Homecoming Project pays hosts a $45 daily stipend for up to six months.

Current market rate rooms, apartments, and homes are financially beyond reach for most people just coming home from prison. Limited housing options are among the countless re-entry barriers, also known as ‘collateral consequences’ of incarceration.

The Homecoming Project reviews each participant’s application and shares several applications with available hosts based on the participants’ goals, lifestyle habits, personal activities, and personality type. The host reviews each application and has the opportunity to meet with applicants before determining which participant would be most compatible. Both host and participant get to know one another through matching conversations before a housing arrangement is finalized in order to create a compatible co-housing situation.

The Homecoming Project has a full-time staff member who works closely with prospective community hosts. To be eligible, hosts must be the homeowner or have consent from the homeowner to host a participant, have a spare room in their home with access to a bathroom for the participant, pass an initial interview with staff, and subsequent HUD inspection of their home, and complete a secure background check. To promote matches, the host will also be interviewed about their ideal roommate relationship and participate in a Q&A to discuss expectations and responsibilities related to hosting. 

Potential participants are screened by Homecoming Project team members at various stages of their re-entry, including: while in-custody or in transitional homes/halfway houses. Participant screening includes an assessment adapted from the Ohio Risk Assessment System Community Supervision Tool and the Texas Christian University Client Evaluation of Self and Treatment, a valid and reliable assessment required by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Participants provide CDCR results of their Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sentencing, the primary tool used by CDCR to assess an individual’s level of risk when they return to communities after discharge from prison. Moreover, prospective participants are required to submit verification of their participation in at least three in-custody rehabilitative programs as a way to demonstrate commitment to their own rehabilitation.

The Homecoming Project is the first of its kind. There is no other model that subsidizes the use of existing and underutilized living spaces specifically for people coming home from prison.

A participant typically lives with a community host for six months. However, a host can choose to house a participant for just 45 days or less. These short-term “emergency placements” are offered primarily to eligible participants that haven’t yet been matched with a longer-term host. The stipend for an emergency placement is $35 a day.

Participants often work with their Homecoming Project community navigator to find a room or apartment for rent. Others move in with a partner or other family members, and in some cases, the host and participant decide to extend their co-housing situation beyond the subsidy period, reaching a mutually agreeable rental arrangement independent of the Homecoming Project.  

Participants typically stay for the entire 6-month period. If a participant has secured housing prior to their scheduled end date, they must give Impact Justice and their host at least seven days’ notice before their expected move-out date to ease the transition.

In Alameda County, the Homecoming Project has matched more than 100 people with compatible hosts. All of them have left the program with stable housing of their own; 95% leave with a job and/or are enrolled in a job training or educational program. To date, the project has a 0% recidivism rate. Recidivism is defined as relapse into the criminal justice system.

As a community host, your commitment is to provide a suitable living space for a participant in exchange for a daily subsidy, which includes utilities. Hosts are also required to attend an initial orientation and bi-monthly educational trainings. While there are no specific requirements for engaging with participants, hosts are encouraged to bond with people in ways that promote a healthy home environment and ease their transition back to the community after a long period of incarceration.

Research continues to underscore that individuals coming home from incarceration often experienced trauma and violence prior to and/or during their incarceration. To foster an environment that is mutually supportive and safe for hosts and participants alike, we conduct a due diligence process that includes  background checks for hosts and anyone over the age of 18 who resides in the home. While most previous convictions do not disqualify someone from participating in the Homecoming Project or hosting a Homecoming Project participant, we do not accept participants with sex offense convictions on their record, nor do we accept hosts with prior sex offense convictions on their record. More information about our background check process will be shared with you once you move forward to the next step of the process.

Community hosts will receive $45 for each day a participant lives in their host home, or up to $1,395 per month, for up to 6 months. Hosts also receive a one-time security deposit of $400. The subsidy and security deposit are paid to hosts via electronic deposits or by check, depending on the host’s preference. The subsidy covers rent and utilities only. Participants are responsible for purchasing their own groceries and other items needed for daily living.

A host can choose to house a participant for up to 45 days. These “emergency placements” are offered primarily to participants who are actively in the “matching process” until they are paired with a host for the 6-month program term. The daily stipend for an “emergency placement” is $35 for each day a participant lives in the home. Security deposits are not provided. Some of these short-term “emergency placements” are rental properties located separately from the host’s home, but these hosts are still expected to meet all eligibility requirements and expectations, including attending training sessions.

Yes, a parole agent and law enforcement can search your home. However, these searches are limited to areas that the participant frequents. For example, an officer will not be able to search a host’s bedroom but would be authorized to search the bathroom if the host and participant share it.

No. If you are the owner, you are not mandated to disclose any information about the participant living with you, and we suggest that you ask the participant what information, if any, they are comfortable with you disclosing.

Yes, if you rent your house or apartment, you must secure written approval from the landlord /property owner before participating in the Homecoming Project.