In June 2020, I interviewed Joseph Gaston and Christana Gamble, two Black people who live in Cleveland, Ohio, about their struggles to find housing after completing prison sentences. Their experiences illuminate a mass incarceration phenomenon known as collateral sanctions—further punishments for those who have already served time. Throughout the country, formerly incarcerated people have had their rental applications routinely rejected because of past felony or misdemeanor convictions. This “Never-Ending Sentence,” as the Re-Entry Housing Committee’s 2020 report is called, demonstrates how collateral sanctions in housing is part of systemic racism. According to “The Never-Ending Sentence,” 80% of Cleveland landlords can ban applicants with felony convictions, sometimes for life. Because of housing discrimination, many people with criminal records wind up homeless. According to Christopher Knestrick, the Executive Director of Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, 82% of the unhoused who use Cleveland’s shelters are Black, and many have been housing insecure.
These collateral sanctions persist despite a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the Fair Housing Act makes it against the law to exclude an applicant simply because of a criminal record. Yet landlords and their management companies still routinely include questions about criminal records in their rental applications. Because Ohio incarcerates five Black people to every one white person, the consequence in housing amounts to discrimination. Though Cleveland and many other places have yet to eliminate this practice, some cities—including Seattle, San Francisco, New York, and Washington D.C.—have instituted reform, eliminating criminal records as a reason for turning down a housing application.
In Cleveland, the COVID-19 pandemic has struck Gaston and Gamble particularly hard, as they and so many others struggle to find shelter and build a new life. Ms. Gamble’s new re-entry program, “The House of Refuge,” has yet to open its doors because of the pandemic, but she’s been Zooming with new clients. (Both offered key input and suggestions for revisions when I showed them the poems.)
Special thanks to Maria Smith, an attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, and Christopher Knestrick, of NEOCH, for connecting me with Mr. Gaston and Ms. Gamble, respectively. Thanks as well to Alissa Quart and the Economic Hardship Reporting Project for support.
—Philip Metres
The House of Refuge
—The Testimony of Chaplain Christana Gamble1
On a hot June morning during the pandemic, we Zoomed into each other’s separate Cleveland rooms. Her virtual background: space, a sky of stars and a dark planet rimmed by light. Mine: an office, shelves lined with books….
I love the library.
You know I’m pretty
much an open book
and I want to share my story
because it helps others
a violet flower
tucked in her
pulled-up hair
(Be with us, Lord,
as I enter
my story):
I was born in Hickman Mills, Missouri,
to a white preacher and a black mother
in the Sixties
Before Cleveland, I was in the country
riding on horses
not living in public
housing
When they divorced, I moved
from a white world
to Cleveland, mom’s breakdown
shock treatment
in foster care
(God blessed me quick
but I was rebellious)
at Metzenbaum’s Children’s Center2
and public housing, I knew
something was not right
it wasn’t clean
it was wild
and I adapted to the atmosphere
My boyfriend was a dealer
and I let him in my house
I was nineteen
The first time I went to court,
they kept saying
trafficking, trafficking
and I didn’t know
what they were talking about
I was nineteen
and Judge Gaul3 didn’t ask me if I needed
treatment, he asked me:
what’s more important
the drugs
or your child?
When I came home, I don’t know
how I ended up
in the same…
more drugs, prison
again
Why? You go through the programs
and probation
you work
the case plan
and you still have no housing
and never knew it was illegal4
until last year, you see
the system was not made for me
the indigo
screen dances
around her
like a dreamcoat
But God, His hand, His
hand
Everything that has happened has led
to this
(God, I cannot leave Him off my lips)
I’ve been in and out of County all my life
I’ve been in City Mission I’ve been in Women in Transition
(now called Front Steps) I’ve been in Cats
I’ve been in prison I’ve been in foster care
I’ve been homeless I’ve lived under bridges5
I’ve been through all of that
and so I know
Ever since I was little, my mom
always asked why
I brought in the strays
Don’t they have a home? she’d say
But that’s how I’ve been
Because if you don’t have a safe place to dwell
the afflictions
will descend
I looked and looked
I waited and waited
Eden6 Shelter Care7
finally
took me in mental illness diagnosis
unwrote my record
Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless8 has been my tent
and now I’ve made The House of Refuge9
her phone rang, (a client)
she said
and answered it
Chaplain Gamble
may I help you
and all went mute
for a moment, indigo
background
dancing on her skin
her words for her
client alone
I’m back
she said
and so my heart
My ministry, the House of Refuge
a peaceful restful
place
The House of Refuge is up and ready
the fridge
is full
the microwave is ready
because of my past I was always afraid
I’m untaught but I’m trained by the Lord
What I want for people
is what God gave me
food, atmosphere, a people that love you
without feeling
degraded
and so my heart and I am so glad to say that I can confidently
and passionately
all along I’ve been trained
I was walking down the street and the Lord
spoke to me
and said, open the door
And I’m not afraid of my past anymore
And the door opened
1 Special thanks to Chaplain Christana Gamble for her conversation, warmth, and testimony. Christana wanted to thank Sister Linda Catanzaro for her mentorship in the Ignatian Spirituality Project while Christana was in County Jail, and director Sherri Horton-Brandon for her program Women in Transition (Front Steps), which provided shelter and training for Christana as she transitioned from homelessness.
2 Metzenbaum Center is a temporary shelter for housing juveniles in the justice system. For more on the history of child services in Cleveland: https://case.edu/ech/articles/c/child-care
3 For more on the controversial judicial practices of Judge Daniel Gaul:
https://serialpodcast.org/season-three/2/transcript
4 For more information about routine housing discrimination for those with criminal records, please read: http://www.thehousingcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/A-Never-Ending-Sentence-2020.pdf and https://www.cleveland.com/business/2020/01/a-criminal-record-is-a-never-ending-sentence-for-cuyahoga-county-housing-applicants-report-says.html. In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Fair Housing Act included disparate impact claims, which now makes it against the law to exclude an applicant simply on the basis of having a criminal record. Special thanks to Attorney Maria Smith (Legal Aid Society of Cleveland) for her insights into what is known as collateral sanctions—ongoing punishment for those who have served their time.
5 For more information about City Mission: https://www.thecitymission.org/ For more information about Women in Transition (now called Front Steps): https://www.frontstepsservices.org/our-history
6 Eden, Inc., short for Emerald Development and Economic Network, Inc. (EDEN) is a 501 (c)(3) agency of the Alcohol Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Cuyahoga County, dedicated to “providing housing solutions to people facing housing insecurities and homelessness.”
https://www.edeninc.org/about/
7 Shelter Care Plus is one of the programs offered by Eden, Inc. https://www.edeninc.org/program-shelter-plus-care-2/. It provided a workaround to provide Christana with housing, despite her record.
8 For more information about the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, check out https://www.neoch.org/. Special thanks to Chris Knestrick for connecting me with Christana Gamble.
9 To contact The House of Refuge emergency hotline for services: 216-713-8364. To contribute to The House of Refuge, you can send a check to House of Refuge Inc., P. O. Box 17327, Cleveland, OH 44117. www.houseofrefugeinc.org
Disparate Impacts
—The Testimony of Joseph Gaston1
I’ve moved around
my whole life
Cincinnati Columbus Nashville Cleveland
after I got out
(prison)
I was homeless for just
over five years
always in motion
“Judge Boyko… to take senior status” (Cleveland.com)2
nobody but nobody
would rent to me
“I intend to maintain
pretty much a full docket,
but maybe a little less to enable me
to travel and sit on other courts…” Boyko said.
I went to ten different apartments
their management companies
all rejected me
for felony conviction
it was discrimination
I got so fed up I asked Legal Aid
I asked the Urban League
the Ohio Civil Rights Commission
but no one would
represent me
everyone told me it was a useless fight
told me the judge would rule
against
everyone told me to wait
so I took three months
filed my own case
based on “disparate impact”
it was a good
lawsuit really beautiful
Plaintiff contends the Defendants engaged in discriminatory housing practices, including refusal to rent, discrimination in rental terms and refusal to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies and practices, in violation of the Fair Housing Act. He further alleges he has a disability which substantially impair major life functions, but he does not elaborate on what his disability is. It appears he may be suggesting his prior conviction is a disability.3
every housing discrimination case
goes to Judge Boyko
everyone knows Judge Boyko
Judge Boyko has performed well
for the system
Opinion and Order: Plaintiff’s Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (Doc. No. 2) is granted, his Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction (Doc. No. 3) and his Motion for Appointment of Counsel (Doc. No. 4) are denied, and this action is dismissed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1915(e). The Court certifies, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3), that an appeal from this decision could not be taken in good faith. Judge Christopher A. Boyko on 2/27/2019.(S,SR)
So I just
gave up
I wore out my eyes
I’m nearsighted now, need
what I see:
the system is rigged
“It’s meaningful, it’s rewarding, frustrating at times,
just like anything else,” the judge said.
“But overall, I couldn’t ask for a better job.”
Cuyahoga County is a haven
for housing
discrimination
an incestuous marriage
between the legal system
and the homeless situation
they can’t let you
win
representative democracy looks like
a good idea
but you can diminish
the role of the populace
“Division hurts, and it’s felt
everywhere, I think,” the judge said.
I was homeless for over
five years on a waiting list at Eden4
five
years
no one should have to wait five years for housing
some guys tried to jump me
in the shower at 2100 Lakeside
I didn’t comply
they threw me out
in the woods
living in the streets, sleeping
for a car, started
raised enough
sleeping there
then in trains and buses
some drivers let you ride all night long
I liked the 22nd
downtown to the airport
and back
it’s a long route
other drivers make you get off
it’s a hard life
I wouldn’t want anyone
to suffer like that
used to shower in the rec center
kept my bag with me
kept my hygiene up
but I never begged
I wasn’t brought up
like that
At the naturalization ceremony,
Judge Boyko reads a poetic statement
by Dean Alfange5:
“I do not choose to be a common man…
I will not trade freedom for beneficence
Nor my dignity for a handout
I will never cower before any master
Nor bend to any threat.
It is my heritage to stand erect.”6
police spend most their time
harassing homeless people
I got a ticket for sleeping
for sleeping!
I looked it up
there is no law that says
you can’t fall asleep
in the state of Ohio
I almost died
got shot at on West 25th
got blood clots in my legs
from sleeping upright on buses
it’s a hard life
social justice institutions
have become part of the system
everyone is part
of this system
Federal judges often work hard to maintain
their judicial independence,
as the appointment is a lifetime one
Judge Boyko will be rewarded well
I seek no earthly reward
just change
I’m in Eden housing on Euclid
when I got out
of prison I wanted to leave
the state
they said I had to stay:
it’s called “community control”
to maintain parole
they don’t want the money
leaving the state
if I live righteously, on the day of judgment
I will not be wronged
the change I seek in the system
may never become reality
but I must try
[the line goes
quiet when I ask Joseph
his dreams]
some day I’d like to be a cook
or a youth advocate
and I’d like to see the world
look into
the Peace Corps
The judge has offer to teach U.S. law
. . . in Ukraine and Saudi Arabia,
and having more flexibility will allow for that.
1 Special thanks to Joseph Gaston for sharing his story. Thanks as well to Maria Smith of the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland for connecting us.
2 On Judge Daniel C. Boyko’s Taking Senior Status: https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/2019/05/federal-judge-in-cleveland-to-take-senior-status-next-year.html. Quotes from this article appear throughout this poem.
3 For more information about the case, please read: https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCOURTS-ohnd-1_18-cv-02440 For more information about routine housing discrimination for those with criminal records, please read: http://www.thehousingcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/A-Never-Ending-Sentence-2020.pdf and https://www.cleveland.com/business/2020/01/a-criminal-record-is-a-never-ending-sentence-for-cuyahoga-county-housing-applicants-report-says.html. In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Fair Housing Act included disparate impact claims, which now makes it against the law to exclude an applicant simply on the basis of having a criminal record. Special thanks to Maria Smith for her insights into what is known as collateral sanctions—ongoing punishment for those who have served their time.
4 Eden, Inc., short for Emerald Development and Economic Network, Inc. (EDEN) is a 501 (c)(3) agency of the Alcohol Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Cuyahoga County, dedicated to “providing housing solutions to people facing housing insecurities and homelessness.” https://www.edeninc.org/about/
5 On Judge Boyko’s naturalization ceremony: https://apnews.com/e8faf64afa8a42f7895b8ed42c24ddbb
6 For the full text of Dean Alfange’s “My Creed”: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/82410-my-creed-i-do-not-choose-to-be-a-common
