Kim Kardashian shouldn't need to cover someone's rent because their criminal record barred them from work or housing — but here's why she did

By Emma Ockerman

An estimated 78 million people in the U.S. have a criminal record, restricting their employment and housing opportunities long after an arrest or conviction

Matthew Charles had been President Donald Trump's special guest at the 2019 State of the Union address. He'd met with state governors and members of Congress. He'd been featured in national media outlets for his newfound freedom, faith and resilience.

But for the life of him, he couldn't become a renter in Nashville, Tenn.

That's because Charles, the first person to be released after the bipartisan First Step Act was signed into law in late 2018, had a felony record--in addition to nonexistent credit and rental histories, since he'd been incarcerated for 22 years of his 35-year sentence in 1996 on charges related to selling crack cocaine. The criminal-justice and sentencing reform might've provided Charles and others in federal prison a path to re-entry, but they still had to contend with the systems, policies and stigmas that hold back people with records from jobs and housing.

After staying with a friend, Charles, 56, was eventually able to find a place to live solo with the help of Kim Kardashian, who footed his monthly $1,025 rent until he began paying his own way this year. And he secured employment through FAMM, a group that advocates for criminal-justice reform, where he now serves as state director for Tennessee.

But Charles knows many other people with criminal records aren't so lucky, and wind up sinking money and time into what can feel like a lost cause. Though it took him three months to find housing--and multiple deposits to landlords who ultimately denied him--others sometimes search even longer. His job hunt came together quickly due to his advocacy work and substantial media attention, but most aren't afforded the same platform.

"I was going around the country meeting governors, legislators and college students, [and] speaking--and yet I still couldn't find a place to lay my head," he said.

Incarceration, fines and government supervision aren't the only ways people are punished for criminal charges. In the U.S., some 78 million people have a criminal record, by one estimate--enough to potentially hold almost a third of the country's adult population back from employment and housing opportunities long after an arrest or conviction, and seriously restrict how they earn and spend money.

A 2022 RAND Corporation study, for example, found that about 64% of unemployed men had been arrested at least once for a non-traffic offense by the time they were 35, while about 46% had been convicted. About a third of the more than 50,000 people released from prison in 2010 were unable to find any sort of employment by 2014, according to a December 2021 report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Those who were employed often wound up in sectors like administrative support and waste-management and remediation services, as well as accommodation and food services, where average hourly earnings tend to be lower than the national average across all sectors.

As for finding a place to live, a separate 2015 study led by the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and other organizations revealed that 79% of formerly incarcerated people said they had been denied housing due to their conviction history. Their loved ones were affected, too: 16% said they weren't able to live with relatives after returning from incarceration due to the risks it posed to their family's housing security, according to the study.

Even today, Charles worries what will happen if he ever needs to find another place to live. "I would possibly run into the same hurdles that I initially ran into," he said.

Charles had already gone through the job-search process in 2016, when he was released from prison in error before being sent back to serve the rest of his sentence--a move that drew outrage and widespread media attention. Before he returned to prison, he lived in a halfway house until he could move into shared housing. He was able to find work as a courier through a temp service, which he said is a common path to employment for people with criminal records.

From the archives (April 2022):Opinion: To find scarce workers, don't be scared to hire those with criminal records

Attitudes toward people involved in the criminal-justice system have relaxed somewhat in recent years: Adults with convictions for cannabis possession, for example, have seen widespread pardons and expungements following the drug's legalization in many states, and at least 37 states have in some way barred public- or private-sector employers from asking about conviction history at the application stage.

But it can still be difficult for people to prove they're more than their criminal history. That fact contributes to higher rates of homelessness and joblessness among people with criminal records, and can have negative consequences for their family members, too, advocates say.

Here's what to consider if you or a loved one has a criminal record and is attempting to access housing or employment:

How will my criminal record affect me?

The point at which you might hit roadblocks due to your criminal record is highly dependent on your local jurisdiction and the job or housing opportunity you're applying for, Ames Grawert, senior counsel at the Brennan Center's Justice Program, told MarketWatch.

Many cities and states, for instance, have adopted so-called ban-the-box laws--you can see if your city, county or state is among them here--to prevent employers from asking about criminal records off the bat. Yet even in those states, employers can and will ask about your criminal history, Grawert noted, just at a stage where they've potentially invested more time in getting to know you.

"If you don't live in a state with those laws, you might indeed have to disclose it up front, and that might be a real headwind you have to face in the application process," Grawert said.

Not all criminal records are created equal, though. Having an arrest record, which may show a person was accused of an offense, rather than a conviction record, which may show a person was found guilty of an offense, makes a "huge difference," Grawert said. While a conviction could block you from occupational licenses and even the ability to vote in elections in some states, and sometimes has to be disclosed earlier in the process in states without ban-the-box laws, there's typically more wiggle room for people whose criminal record doesn't extend past an arrest.

From the archives (September 2022):Airbnb can ban you for having a criminal record. This Pennsylvania councilwoman found out the hard way

Obtaining housing is a bit trickier. Though some public-housing authorities have also relaxed their rules on tenants with criminal records or are being urged to do so, that lenience doesn't necessarily translate to private rental housing, where many tenants are likely to land. Renters can face difficulties caused by their record both at the application stage and background-check stage, Grawert said.

That can be scary for people coming out of prison, especially if it means returning to communities that were unsafe for them in the first place, said Carmen Garcia, the executive director of Root & Rebound, an Oakland, Calif.-based re-entry advocacy and support group also active in South Carolina. Housing difficulties can also increase the risk of recidivism, or committing a crime again.

Garcia's own time in federal prison still looms over every housing decision she makes, she said. Even a decade after the end of her incarceration and probation, she feared a background check would thwart her rental applications when she decided to stop living with her daughter and look for her own place about a year ago. Despite her current landlord never asking about her criminal history, the anxiety persists, Garcia said.

"Even if you have a job, that's not a guarantee that you'll be able to get an apartment or housing," Garcia said.

A criminal record doesn't just affect the person who went to prison, Garcia added--it also impacts their family. For example, parents who are trying to reunify with kids placed in alternative custody after prison may need to secure housing before they can live with their children again. Being unable to find a place to live can delay that process, and sometimes even their child's ability to visit them, Garcia said.

Garcia's organization is now advocating for legislation that would make it easier for people with records to access housing. "If we had better support, you can only imagine the great things that we would be able to do," she said.

If you're currently incarcerated, leaving incarceration soon, or have a loved one in a similar situation, try to access local resources that can connect you to housing as soon as possible. Also check whether your photo ID is up to date, as that's often necessary for obtaining housing and employment.

Which employers are open to hiring people with criminal records?

Employers have become increasingly accepting of applicants with criminal records, though "outdated background-check processes" can still screen out people who have had contact with the criminal-justice system, said Parisa Fatehi-Weeks, the senior director of ESG programs and partnerships at Indeed.

By broadly rejecting applicants purely for their criminal backgrounds, though, employers are "missing out on nearly a third of the American talent workforce pool," Fatehi-Weeks said. The global job site and hiring platform has committed to helping 30 million job seekers who face bias and barriers, including those with criminal records, get hired by 2030.

"Job seekers and workers who may have had criminal records are actually shown to be excellent employees," Fatehi-Weeks added. "In fact, some studies have shown these employees tend to stay longer with their employers compared to other employees--which is a huge issue on the mind of employers when you think about how expensive it is to spend time hiring [and] onboarding, only to lose that talent."

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