Erin Marrero-Savoie, founder and executive director of Phoenix Project NOLA, stands next to the platform of a new tiny house being built to house people recently released from prison. It will be ready at the end of July. (John Gray/Verite News)
NEW ORLEANS — Two local nonprofits are teaming up to provide housing for people just out of prison in an effort to help them reenter society.
Phoenix Project NOLA, a housing nonprofit, and The First 72+, a nonprofit that helps former inmates transition out of prison, began construction in early June on a tiny house near the New Orleans City Jail.
Once completed, the two-bedroom apartment, located near The First 72 headquarters on Perdido Street, will provide formerly incarcerated people with an essential resource – a home – as they rebuild their lives on the outside.
According to the Prison Policy Initiative, people recently released from prison are 10 times more likely to become homeless than the general population.
“Having access to… long-term housing plays a critical role in public safety,” said Troy Glover, executive director of The First 72+.
The First 72+, which also provides temporary dormitory-style housing for people recently incarcerated, has already chosen someone to live in the first house, but will wait until an upcoming ribbon-cutting ceremony to reveal that person’s identity.
Erin Marrero-Savoie, founder and executive director of Phoenix Project NOLA, said she wanted to create temporary housing but needed the land to build on. The partnership with The First 72+ was developed from a shared goal of expanding access to housing for the recently incarcerated.
“They wanted to expand their housing program, they had the land that was available,” Marrero-Savoie said. “It just seemed like a seamless partnership.”
The home will be located across the street from the New Orleans jail, which Marrero-Savoie said was important.
“People need to see that change is possible… for people in this community,” she said.
The land where the tiny house is being built was leased by the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office to The First 72+, Glover said.
“Knowing that the sheriff participated gives us some hope that there is some chance for our justice system,” Marrero-Savoie said. “There is a chance that things could be turned around in a different way.”
Vacancy rates in Mid-City have increased over the past two decades, and according to The Data Center, about half of the area’s renters pay 30% or more of their income in rent.
“If you go out on the street, you see houses that cost $450,000 and were built by people who are not from here,” Marrero-Savoie said. “What we are doing is for people in New Orleans who have been affected by the consequences of the crisis. [criminal] legal system.”
The new transitional housing initiative exists alongside other programs from The First 72+ that specialize in providing immediate assistance to people once they are released from prison.
“The first 72 hours are crucial when someone is released,” Glover said. “Sometimes people just commit petty crimes to eat or pay for housing.”
Marrero-Savoie said the house will be completed in July.
This article first appeared on Verite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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