The housing crisis sweeping the country has a profound impact on the justice system, accelerating the entrenched relationship between homelessness and incarceration, according to people who work with prisoners.

Attorney Beth Bromberg in Ontario said that inmates in regional institutions are already released with little support. But now, with homeless camps spreading across Canada, programs that find vulnerable people a place in low-income housing or supportive housing have been overwhelmed.

Bromberg added in an interview about her efforts to find housing for recently incarcerated people: "It has become more difficult – in fact, I would say it is impossible at this point to provide housing for people."

So they return to shelters or sleep rough, where it is difficult for supporters to keep in touch with them, and where they are more vulnerable to falling back into mental health crises or addiction, which may have initially led them to prison. She said this makes them more prone to returning to crime.

Bromberg also said, "People cycle in and out of regional systems because their needs are unmet upon release." "This costs our communities a fortune in incarceration, hospital care, and ambulance services."

In British Columbia, Mo Kurschinsky runs a non-profit called "Unlocking The Gates," which welcomes inmates upon release and helps them find shelter, food, and other necessities.

He also said it is impossible to find a place for people to live, or even a spot in a shelter, because everything is full. While some governments are trying to set plans to address the housing crisis in their provinces, Kurschinsky said it would be wise to consider adding more supportive housing for people released from prison.

Kurschinsky added in an interview: "Throwing (the homeless) out of jails where they are essentially warehoused is not the solution." In Saint John, Q said he has been out of prison for years. He said he lived most of his life alone, after his mother died, and was rejected by other family members because of his drug addiction.