AcknowledgementsCorinne Carey, researcher with the U.S. Program of Human Rights Watch, is the author of this report. It is based primarily on research she conducted from 2003 to 2004. The report was edited by Jamie Fellner, U.S. Program director, Dinah PoKempner, general counsel, and Joseph Saunders, program director. Widney Brown provided additional legal advice. Miranda Johnson’s research assistance was meticulous and thorough, and Alison Parker, Rebecca Schleifer, Jonathan Cohen, and Paul Jacobs were particularly helpful throughout the research and writing of this report. Paul Jacobs, Keramet Reiter, Andrea Holley, and Fitzroy Hepkins provided production assistance. Human Rights Watch gratefully acknowledges the many contributions of the following individuals to our understanding of public housing, homelessness, reentry, and the nature and impact of criminal record exclusions: Catherine Albisa of the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative, Patricia Allard of the Brennan Center, Philip Alston of New York University, Allen Beck of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Luciano Colonna of the Harm Reduction Project in Salt Lake City, Utah, Jennifer Flynn and Shirlene Cooper of the New York City AIDS Housing Network, Maria Foscarinis of the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, Kelli Dunn Howard of Texas RioGrande Legal Services, Carolyn Johnson of the Homeless Persons Representation Project in Baltimore, Maryland, Malcolm Langford and Mayra Gomez of the Center on Housing Rights and Evictions, Debbie Mukamal of the National H.I.R.E. Project at the Legal Action Center, JoAnne Page of the Fortune Society, and Dorothy Thomas, independent consultant. We extend sincere gratitude as well to the local public housing officials, and the hundreds of homeless people, former prisoners, and their advocates who agreed to be interviewed for this report, and we regret that we cannot mention all of them by name. We are grateful to the JEHT Foundation for providing the funding for this report and for the good counsel given by Scott Bane during its development. Human Rights Watch also thanks the Open Society Institute and Peter B. Lewis for their generous support of our U.S. program.
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