Larry Durkin of New Hope Community Health was quoted in an article posted by KBOI as saying that he believes he can provide a service to the offenders at no cost to the public. Now that is a paraphrase and it is also a load of malarkey. This is out of an old article but I seriously doubt much has changed since Nov. 2008. I would venture to guess that the majority of the offenders staying at all transitional homes have received state funding for their rent at this place. At the time of this article New Hope was on the more expensive transitional homes in the state.
It is not my intention to bash New Hope though. A couple of years ago yes but today no. It is really hard for offenders to find a place to live once released. Seriously how many people want to rent an apartment or room to a burglar, meth addict or armed robber. So however much I despise Larry Durkin and his real estate investment company "New Hope", I do believe they provide a service to our state. I don't know what the numbers are but many offenders leaving correctional facilities receive funding for housing. That is OK though because one of the biggest keys to successful reentry is a stable living environment upon release.
I subscribe to corrections connection. It is a web page that provides news and forums about industry issues. I responded to a post about Homelessness and offenders and recently a Colorado couple responded to me I would like to share their web page with whom ever may be so fortunate to read this. http://maxcashflownow.com They operate a buisiness of renting to felons. They also advertise on their website how to do it in a profitable and responsible manner.
Living in rural northern Idaho there are not a lot of options for offenders. Nobody wants them in their backyard. New Bridges Church in Lewiston has attempted for several years now to get a transitional home up and running in Lewiston and has met with some resistance. In a November 2009 article on KLEW John DeThomas of the Idaho Division of Aeronautics has stated that the presence of a transitional home in a proposed area near the airport in Lewiston would create an aviation hazard due to the change of a high density residential zone. Sounds like more malarkey to me.
Listen I don't want them in my backyard either but I also don't want them robbing someone I care for, getting drunk and killing a loved one or any other number of possible new crimes. A transitional home operated by a church like New Bridges would bring positive change to the lives of the offender and in the long term to the taxpayers of the State of Idaho.
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If a church takes on a half way house for men or women who are being released then it should do it responsibly. I think everybody deserves a second chance. What I don't like is do gooders who want to want to make an impression and not do the work that this type of commitment takes. Just wishin it don't make it happen. I'd much rather see somebody who knows the system and knows not only how to relate to offenders but knows when one is pulling a con. The state needs to provide some well organized, well run organizations for inmates being released. If this could be done correctly, maybe there would be less re-offending and more success stories. Good topic!
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