PORT ANGELES — It hardly will be a heroes’ welcome, but offenders released from state and federal prisons will find a place to call home here.
Clallam County commissioners Tuesday accepted more than $350,000 in state funds to establish a Re-entry Housing Program.
The ex-inmates will be arriving whether they have homes or not.
State and federal corrections policies require them to be released to the community where they committed their first offenses.
Some will return to their families or friends, but others will be homeless.
And homelessness poses an almost insurmountable obstacle for offenders to get treatment for brain disorders or drug addictions, Serenity House of Clallam County workers say.
Having no home also makes it hard for them to find a job or go back to school.
The re-entry program is called “supportive,” meaning offenders can receive these services and lower the chance they’ll return jobless, disturbed or addicted to the street.
