About Us

When Richard Howell was released from prison in 2009, he got turned down for housing again and again. He experienced first-hand the ways our rental and housing markets exclude returning citizens who have been impacted by the criminal justice system. “How am I supposed to be a productive citizen if I don’t have the basic need of housing?” he asks. It’s an urgent question for a state with around 5,000 returning citizens in a given year.

Rather than lose hope, his experience inspired Richard to work to find rental housing for people with felony backgrounds, while also helping them stabilize their lives.

This is one example of many where Richard sees opportunities where others see problems.  Richard sees opportunities everywhere — for connection, for change, or for new and better systems. He has launched addiction recovery programs, organized housing for people with felonies, collected resources for people to help them survive COVID-19, and supported young people to develop work readiness skills. Having participated in addiction recovery programs, Richard understood what had and hadn’t worked for him, and he uses this background to support Vita Nova residents.

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Richard builds relationships to help share the opportunities he sees with his community. He views his work as a means to eliminate the barriers between people and resources, creating more direct lines of access to opportunity. 

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