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Cal State Fullerton is marking the first anniversary of a one-of-a-kind support service: a low-cost, off-campus house for enrolled students who’ve served time in prison.
The two-story house in a hilly neighborhood about four miles from campus is home to half a dozen men. Some were released weeks ago, others have been out of prison for years, and all of them are working to earn their degrees to turn their lives around.
The leased home is run by Cal State Fullerton’s Project Rebound. Community colleges and University of California campuses run support programs for ex-inmates but Fullerton says this housing is the only one of its kind in the nation.
Directors of the project say formerly incarcerated students are often denied housing by landlords who refused to rent to them when they disclosed their criminal records.
Cal State Fullerton administrators say they’re looking into opening housing for formerly incarcerated female students.