Dozens left stranded after being forced out of transitional housing in Minneapolis
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Released from custody about a month ago, Anthony Jefferson says Better Futures Minnesota gave him the resources he needed to get back on his feet.
"Housing, stability, peace of mind... it's very important because you don't want to go back to prison," said Jefferson.
The same is true for former inmate, Terelle Shaw.
"You learn how to pay rent. You learn how to reintegrate into society," said Shaw.
The non-profit contracts with several county corrections departments to help former inmates when they get out of prison with low-cost housing and jobs at their ReUse warehouse or in deconstruction.
But this week, the structure and stability the program provided to these men was ripped away suddenly.
FOX 9 has learned more than a dozen former inmates in the non-profit program who were out on parole with Hennepin County were told they had to leave the facility with less than 24 hours' notice on Wednesday night. The men say their parole officers didn't give them an explanation for the sudden change.
"They don't have anything. Some of them don't have anywhere to go," said advocate Marvina Hayes, who helped assist some of the displaced men.
"When the (parole officers) came up in here, they were told they have 24 hours to leave or they would go back to jail. They just got scared and started packing up their stuff up and calling their family."
"If we are going to have a justice system that means anything, we have to support people when they get out. This is the opposite of that," added Paul Bosman, attorney for Communities United Against Police Brutality.
The group is now demanding concrete answers as to why this all happened, but so far, they haven't gotten any from the county or the non-profit.
Fox 9 reached out to Better Futures Minnesota and a representative tells us they are also waiting for answers from Hennepin County about the reasoning behind suddenly pulling parolees out from the program.
Fox 9 has reached out to Hennepin County for comment but they declined to provide any specifics on the situation.
UPDATE 10/12/22: In a message to FOX 9, Hennepin County officials say they pulled people out of the supportive housing due to concerns over safety after receiving "reports about alleged criminal activity on-site at one housing location."
"The County responded promptly to increase visits and monitoring at this housing location, and to cooperate with investigations regarding the reported criminal activity," the statement reads. "County staff are also working diligently with clients to identify other suitable housing locations as appropriate and will continue these efforts."
The county says that no one in the housing has been left completely out in the cold: "No County client has been directed to leave their supportive housing without assistance to identify new housing."
At the same time, a GoFundMe has been launched to help anyone who left the supportive housing.