Minnehaha County selected for grant to improve housing access for 'justice-involved people'

Minnehaha County has been selected for a national initiative led by the MacArthur Foundation that's aimed at improving housing access for people impacted by the justice system.

The county's selection to the Just Home Project comes along with a $775,000 grant from the MacArthur Foundation intended to support a six-month planning period, and the ability to access up to $3.5 million more in order to implement the plan.

Judge Robin Houwman spoke at a press conference Wednesday announcing the county's selection and said members of the county's justice system were "acutely aware that stable housing is a key ingredient to recovery."

More: Minnehaha County uses $700K grant to focus on racial, ethnic inequities in justice system

Minnehaha County Commissioner Dean Karsky said it was notable that Minnehaha County was asked to submit an application to the program, adding that the community is no stranger to the MacArthur foundation. Funding from the group has already helped plan The Link as well as address racial disparities in the local court system.

Greg Sands, CEO of Sands Wall Systems, said he was proud to be involved with the program, especially as someone who felt he'd been taken advantage of by a landlord who was aware of his previous incarceration.

Mayor Paul TenHaken said he'd spoken recently to a group of about 15 people impacted by the criminal justice system whose questions almost all centered around housing and how challenging it was to find it.

Those are the people they'll be relying on to discover the barriers in the system throughout the planning process, he said, whether it's application fees, a need for family-friendly units or something else.

Saying that it was hard to build even standard single-family housing without some kind of public pushback, TenHaken said housing specifically for people impacted by the criminal justice system could see even more pushback, a mindset he wanted to push back on.

Three other communities were selected for the program: Charleston County, South Carolina; the City and County of San Francisco, California; and Tulsa County, Oklahoma.