June 24, 2011 | Categories: News | Tags: criminal background, ex-offenders, HUD, PHA, Public Housing, Shaun Donovan, US Department of Housing and Urban Development
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovon and Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing Sandra Henriquez wrote a letter to the Executive Directors of the Country’s Public Housing Authorites (PHA’s) on June 17, 2011 encouraging them to help ex-offenders reunite with their families and get a second chance in life by using less restrictive tenant selection criteria.
The only circumstances under which a PHA is required by law to ban a person from federally assisted housing is if he or she was convicted of methamphetamine production on the premises or is subject to a lifetime registration as a sex offender.
The letter ends with “As President Obama recently made clear, this is an Administration that believes in the importance of second chances – that people who have paid their debt to society deserve the opportunity to become productive citizens and caring parents, to set the past aside and embrace the future. Part of that support means helping ex-offenders gain access to one of the most fundamental building blocks of a stable life – a place to live.”
The Fair Housing Center of Southeastern Michigan applauds HUD Secretary Donovan and Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing Sandra Henriquez for issuing a clear statement on Public Housing tenant selection criteria.