The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws – NARSOL – is an advocacy organization dedicated solely to fighting for the rights of those who are required to register on a sex offender registry.
Of all of the hindrances to successful rehabilitation that the registry imposes, residency restrictions are one of the most onerous. Not every state imposes state-wide restrictions limiting where those with former sexual crime convictions may live. Illinois is one that does, and one where the problem is severe in some parts of the state. The urban areas, of course, suffer the most, with homeless populations of registered citizens increasing annually. They are homeless because they cannot find housing in which to live, find a job, & become contributing members of society.
NARSOL became acquainted with NewDay Apartments because of recent localized concerns with a NewDay apartment building. Our state affiliate, Illinois Voices for Reform, was alarmed at some of the reported incidents, and we investigated the situation; interviewed some people, including a representative of NewDay; and wrote a piece supporting NewDay & what they do.
NARSOL is delighted to learn that a company exists that provides safe housing for registrants who would otherwise be homeless or even kept in prison beyond the expiration of their sentences because no compliant housing could be found for them.
NewDay is filling a void in Illinois that so desperately needs filling. As far as we know, no other organization is doing what NewDay is doing on the scale it is doing it.
NARSOL is proud to partner with NewDay in this initiative. We fully support them in what they are doing. We trust this will be a long-lived association as we both strive to bring some rationality to laws that create a severe lack of what is rational. The preponderance of irrational legislation has, under the guise of public safety, created conditions that do just the opposite. A safe community is a community where everyone has stable housing. NewDay is working toward that goal, and NARSOL is proud to be associated with them.