Shared Housing Spotlight: Reentry Housing for Returning Citizens

Shared housing can serve a wide range of populations — and housing for returning citizens is one of the most complex, important, and often misunderstood.

This Shared Housing Spotlight session focuses on reentry housing for formerly incarcerated individuals returning to the community. The session will examine the demand drivers, operational realities, and responsibilities that distinguish this work from traditional shared housing, room-by-room rentals, and coliving models.

With guest speaker Wuanita Scott of Mavrik Village, this session will explore how reentry housing works in practice, what it takes to operate responsibly, and how investors, housing providers, and operators should evaluate fit, structure, partnerships, and mission alignment before engaging in this space.

This session is designed to inform — not promote — and will address both the opportunities and constraints of serving returning citizens through a shared housing model.

You’ll Learn

• Who reentry housing serves and why the need remains strong
• How housing for returning citizens differs from traditional room-by-room and coliving models
• Operational requirements, partnerships, and support structures
• Key compliance, zoning, and community considerations
• Risks, misconceptions, and common failure points
• How to assess whether this housing model aligns with your goals, capacity, and mission

Why This Spotlight Matters

Reentry housing is not a plug-and-play shared housing strategy.

It requires clear intent, strong operational discipline, appropriate support structures, and a realistic understanding of regulatory, community, and resident needs.

When approached thoughtfully, reentry housing can help address a critical housing need while supporting stability for returning citizens. When approached casually, it can introduce significant operational, compliance, community, and reputational risk.

This session is designed to help participants better understand the difference.

Waunita Scott didn't start as a shared housing provider. She started as a Jersey girl with a family legacy in real estate, a nursing background, and 25 years working alongside justice-impacted people in schools, community organizations, and correctional facilities. She came to Baltimore as an investor in 2022, picked up a duplex in the East Arlington neighborhood of Northwest Baltimore, and thought she would rent the two apartments and build a portfolio.

Then the work evolved.

In 2024, Waunita pivoted from traditional rentals to shared housing and launched Mavrik Village, a Baltimore reentry housing nonprofit incorporated in September 2025, built on one core premise: stable housing is not a reward for getting your life together. It is how you get your life together.

Waunita is known for turning conversations into action and for bringing people together to navigate barriers, mobilize resources, and impact systems. She serves on multiple boards and on statewide initiatives advancing reentry.

When she isn't working, Waunita is happiest surrounded by family and friends, sharing good conversation, traveling, catching live concerts or comedy shows, and savoring memorable meals. She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, a service sorority.

Join Waunita for a conversation about shared housing: what made her pivot, how the model works operationally, and what she's learned about making it sustainable, scalable, and worthy of the people it serves.