How New Orleans is Reaching Unhoused Residents

A New Orleans city office launched last year has helped the city place more unhoused residents in housing and link them to supportive services. According to an article by Carl Smith in Governing, staff at the Office of Homeless Services and Strategy were tasked with developing a strategic plan for reducing homelessness and connecting residents to services.

“With the help of a $15 million grant from HUD and other funding sources, the city has managed to clear out three encampments — and then place the individuals who’d been living in them into housing.” The city works with UNITY of Greater New Orleans and local hospitals and universities to provide housing and wrap-around services to ensure people remain in stable housing.

Smith notes that New Orleans has a history of successful efforts to reduce homelessness. In 2015, the city became the first in the nation to end veteran homelessness. Today, the unhoused population is roughly 1,300, with two-thirds of unhoused people living in shelters.