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More than 800,000 African American men are currently incarcerated in prisons or jails in the United States. Most of these men leave prison ill prepared to return to society as workers, or to reintegrate into family settings. Returning from prison is complicated by struggles in the housing and job markets. This article begins with a review of literature exploring drug laws and disproportionate incarceration rates, homelessness, and joblessness. Data from a community-based, qualitative study of African American men following incarceration is presented. A discussion of how incarceration influenced their return to family situations is included that supports the findings by earlier studies on the effects of homelessness and joblessness on individuals and families. The article concludes with recommendations for the development of targeted support systems and offers suggestions for future nursing research with this population.

Purpose: To explore how joblessness and homelessness influence the health of men leaving prison., Design: A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was conducted with 17 formerly incarcerated African American men. Participants were interviewed for 1-2 hours in a private setting. Data were collected over 3 months in late 2001., Methods: Questions were focused on the experiences of participants during incarceration and after release from prison. Discourse analysis was used to analyze the data., Finding: Findings related to unemployment included, (a) being incarcerated was associated with decreased types of employment available after release from prison, (b) a history of incarceration altered how participants were able to conduct job searches, and (c) men who did well after release were those who were self-employed. Findings related to homelessness showed that barriers in either systems or relationships interfered with finding homes., Conclusions: If formerly incarcerated African American men are to reenter society in meaningful ways, steady, living-wage employment and a stable living environment are needed for these men to be able to successfully reintegrate into both families and the larger society, and to avoid conditions that are precursors of health problems.