In an article published in the New York Times today, Mayor Nagin Of New Orleans was quoted as saying that the solution to homelessness was to purchase one-way tickets out of town. This insensitive and trite comment was later recanted and framed as a joke, but to thousands of homeless people in New Orleans, it wasn’t very funny.
After Hurricane Katrina, the homeless population doubled as the size of the city overall halved. In addition, the city lost 800 of its 2,800 beds designated for homeless people. A significantly increased population coupled with a 30% reduction in emergency and transitional housing for homeless has dealt a crippling blow to the post-Katrina city.
Making matters worse, appropriations and rental subsidies for low-income residents, as well as disabled homeless residents have been approved by the Senate but have yet to pass in Congress. Ironically, Congress approved millions to provide wraparound services for those in need once they have moved into apartments and gave hefty tax breaks to developers and construction companies to increase the affordable housing stock by setting aside units for low-income renters and even promisign 5% of units for the chronically homeless. What Congress did not do is approve money to help pay the rent, meaning that people most in need are not able to move into these units and those who are already in permanent supportive housing will lose their subsideis once they expire at the end of this year.
UNITY of Greater New Orleans, an agency that provides services to the homeless, went to one of the city’s largest encampments to talk to homeless residents about their experiences. Some of the most interesting highlights include:
- Only 26% of clients surveyed were homeless before Hurricane Katrina
- Contrary to popular belief, only 14% of people were not residents of New Orleans prior to Katrina.
- 31% had lost their FEMA trialer or other rental assistance
- 33% reported being a victim of a violent crime since becoming homeless
- 75% had no medical insurance
While the situation in New Orleans is disheartening and somewhat unique due to natural disaster, we should not assume that our most vulnerable homeless people here in Western New York aren’t similary at risk. In January, we talked to 1,400 people about their backgrounds and experiences with homelessness but most of the survey respondents were already being housed. The Homeless Alliance is currently considering a similar effort, focusing exclusively on our street homeless, as it becomes evident that this often-overlooked segment of our homeless population could benefit from immediate outreach and assistance.
