April 29, 2025
The NYU Furman Center’s Housing Solutions Lab (“the Lab”) and the Center for Justice Innovation (“the Center”) have selected eight communities to join the 2025 Housing Justice Peer Network — a 16-month-long program designed for housing and criminal justice agency leaders nationwide.
With support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, the Network will bring together housing and criminal justice leaders from Dane County, WI; Montgomery County, OH; Kansas City, MO; Memphis, TN; Oakland, CA; Pittsburgh, PA; Prince George’s County, MD; and Toledo, OH; to further cross-sector partnerships and explore solutions that improve access to housing for justice-involved people.
Participants of the Housing Justice Peer Network will receive technical assistance and policy guidance. Our experts will also assist them in gathering the necessary data and identifying the partnerships needed to achieve their goals. The two-phase program will launch on April 29. Phase One will include monthly virtual sessions, during which attendees will learn from national housing and justice researchers and practitioners about promising approaches to bridge gaps and implement reforms. In Phase Two, the Center and the Lab will assist each team in creating detailed implementation plans to achieve local objectives, such as establishing a community court, developing navigation systems to help individuals transitioning out of the criminal justice system locate housing, or designing eviction prevention programs.
“People who have been involved with the criminal justice system face numerous barriers to stable, affordable housing. Yet, despite the link between criminal justice issues and housing stability, these systems can often operate separately,” said Martha Galvez, Executive Director of the NYU Furman Center’s Housing Solutions Lab. “The Network’s goals are to foster the peer learning, intentional collaboration, and individualized planning needed to design and implement innovative policies. We also aim to foster the lasting relationships that jurisdictions need to tackle these interconnected challenges.”
Courtney Bryan, Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Justice Innovation, said the launch of the Housing Justice Peer Network is a vital step forward in disrupting the relationship between housing instability and involvement in the criminal justice system. “As the Center works to advance justice and safety across the nation, we’re proud to partner with the NYU Furman Center’s Housing Solutions Lab and collaborate with policymakers in these eight communities to solve housing issues for system-involved people,” she added.
You can read the full press release and learn more about our participating localities here.
This initiative was made possible through support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies.
