Raymond Rosa sits in the back of his van, which he outfitted with a makeshift electricity system. (Photo by Jabril Faraj) A City of Milwaukee ordinance passed by the Common Council in July 2014 is making it nearly impossible for former sex offenders to find housing. The ordinance restricts these ex-offenders from living within 2,000 feet of any school, licensed day care center, park, recreation trail or playground. As of Jan. 16, 2015, the city released a public notice listing 55 addresses — 117 units, according to a Department of Corrections (DOC) field supervisor — where released sex offenders can legally reside under the new law. The list includes private residences that are currently occupied and multiple-unit buildings that have refused to rent to sex offenders. “We do not in any way represent that these properties are available to rent or live in,” said Milwaukee City Clerk Jim Owczarski, who noted ironically that the list is “the best reference document” for sex offenders trying to find housing. He added, “It’s frankly not the city’s role … to find housing for sexual offenders.” Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing! Thomas Salter, a DOC field supervisor for sex offenders at Unit 330, said the city ordinance is “the most difficult thing that my agents have to deal with.” Salter said 40 individuals currently under his supervision are homeless. “It’s not something that’s helpful, it’s not something that makes our community safe, it’s not something that’s even just decent,” he said. “But, it’s something that we have to deal with because of our city council’s decisions.” One of the people affected by the ordinance is Raymond Rosa, 49, who was released on parole in June and is homeless. Rosa and his girlfriend Malina Oglesby, 52, who had a home together before Oglesby filed for bankruptcy, had been staying with her mother with the permission of Rosa’s parole officer. At the end of June, the couple was kicked out because there were “too many people in one house,” according to Rosa. Since then, they’ve moved from place to place in a van Rosa jerry-rigged with batteries, which provide a small amount of electricity to power the couple’s breathing machines — both Rosa and Oglesby have sleep apnea — and the GPS bracelet he wears on his ankle. Rosa even installed an air conditioner during the hot summer months. Oglesby said she has seen other homeless people with nothing more than a bag and a pillow. Rosa, who referred to himself as “a survivalist,” acknowledged they’re better off than some but he’s still unsure about what the Wisconsin winter will bring. Rosa said he petitioned DOC to let him serve out his time on supervision, which goes through September 2016, in prison. Rosa received a letter in response stating a request for voluntary incarceration will not be approved if the offender “seeks to avoid supervision.” “I don’t know if I’m gonna make it through this winter,” he said. “I don’t know if she’s gonna make it through the winter. Anybody that doesn’t take an insurance [policy] out on me is an idiot.” Misconceptions The preamble to the city ordinance that restricts where sex offenders can live calls them “an extreme threat to the public safety” who are “extremely likely to use physical violence and to repeat their offenses.” It says the cost to society is, “while incalculable, clearly exorbitant” and claims the intent of the ordinance is “not to impose a criminal penalty” but to improve the health, safety and welfare of citizens. “That’s an awfully broad brush to be painting all sex offenders [with],” said Larry Dupuis, legal director at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Wisconsin. “People who have been convicted of sex offenses are quite variable. Unfortunately, most of these laws treat them all as identical.” In fact, nationwide, only 5.3 percent of sex offenders re-offend within three years of their release. More than nine out of 10 had not previously been convicted of a sex crime; most victims are known to the perpetrator; and treatment can have a significant effect on whether or not a sex offender will re-offend. In Wisconsin, sex offenders deemed to be at high risk of reoffending are confined to sex offender treatment facilities under a 1994 law. Dupuis, who was involved in an unsuccessful challenge to a similar South Milwaukee ordinance, said residency restrictions on sex offenders “are largely driven by misconceptions.” Among them is the idea of the “lurking sex offender,” which Dupuis called “fiction,” and the assumption that sex offenders are more likely to commit an offense closer to their homes. All 19 municipalities in Milwaukee County have some type of residency ordinance that restricts where sex offenders can live.