Jessica's Law, first passed in Florida in 2005 as a way to protect children from sex offenders, actually puts kids more at risk. Since Jessica's Law (Proposition 83) was passed in California in late 2006, for example, the number of homeless sex offenders skyrocketed from 88 to 2,300. This is because Jessica's Law restricts sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or a park. In cramped urban areas, however, finding housing outside of these parameters is nearly impossible, so where are they supposed to live?

Sex offenders are at increased risk for committing another sex offense if they are homeless. 

Meanwhile, they can wander nearby parks and schools all day. Shouldn't folks be more concerned with what a sex offender does while awake than asleep?

As we all know by now, the instability of homelessness and associated turmoil can exacerbate mental health conditions or trigger new ones. It's no different for sex offenders released from prison and sent to the streets with nothing to help focus their energy into positive behavioral change. For their well being and the community's, sex offenders need to be housed. 

Tell your representatives to review your state's current sex offender laws to make them more humane and effective, instead of instituting Jessica's Law or making it even stricter. Remind them that homeless sex offenders are more dangerous than housed ones. 

Photo credit: Bob Jagendorf