Title: Post-Katrina Homeless Camps in New Orleans
1Post-Katrina Homeless Camps in New Orleans
- A Community Wide Re-Housing Initiative -
July 29, 2008
A monumental humanitarian achievement essential
to the recovery of New Orleans
Unity of Greater New Orleans, 2475 Canal Street,
Suite 300, New Orleans Louisiana, 70119 Tel
(504) 821-4496 Ext. 103 Fax (504) 821-4704
Web www.unitygno.org
2New Orleans Has Accomplished What Seemed to Be
Impossible
In eight months beginning Nov. 21, 2007, UNITY of
Greater New Orleans street outreach workers have
assisted 457 people suffering in two large
squalid homeless camps in the heart of downtown
New Orleans to leave them for permanent housing.
Outreach workers closed the first camp between
Nov. 21 and Dec. 20 (the city and state then
fenced it off) , and closed the second camp
between Feb. 29 and July 17 (the camp remains
empty despite the lack of any physical barrier).
-
- A community-wide campaign is ongoing to resettle
each person in his or her own apartment - 319 camp residents have already been resettled
in their own apartments - 117 are currently in temporary housing (medical
respite hotel beds, emergency shelter) while
waiting for apartments to be found - 13 were placed in temporary settings but have
disappeared (outreach workers plan to find them
and assist them to resettle in permanent housing) - 8 are in the hospital or in jail (outreach
workers plan to assist them to resettle in
permanent housing)
3Homelessness in Post-KatrinaNew Orleans
Homelessness in New Orleans and neighboring
Jefferson Parish is estimated to have doubled
since the hurricane to a total of about 12,000
meeting HUDs definition of homelessness (those
living in abandoned buildings or in houses
without utilities, on the street, in cars, in
housing designated for the homeless, and those
being evicted by judicial process or by family or
friends or being released by institutions with
nowhere to go). As a result of the devastation
of 51,000 units of rental housing following the
levee failures, there is an epidemic of people
squatting in abandoned housing in New Orleans.
In the past 12 months, agencies in the UNITY
network have provided services and housing to
over 16,000 adults and children experiencing
homelessness a 60 percent increase since
Katrina in the number of unduplicated clients
served by the same number of agencies.
4The Rise of Homeless Camps
In the summer of 2007, the homeless crisis
suddenly became very visible as two homeless
camps formed in downtown New Orleans a camp
eventually numbering about 300 people a night
formed at Duncan Plaza just outside City Hall and
a second camp eventually numbering about 250
people a night formed under Interstate 10 along
Claiborne Avenue. UNITY has documented 975
different individuals who lived in one or both of
these camps over the period of Nov. 2007 - July
2008. 64 percent of camp residents reported they
came there from one of the thousands of abandoned
buildings in the city.
5Primary Factors Causing Post-Katrina Homeless
Crisis in New Orleans
- Devastation of rental housing stock and
skyrocketing rents - Increases in mental and physical illness and
substance addiction while healthcare
infrastructure for the poor has not been rebuilt - Displacement of extended family network on which
so many vulnerable people once relied
6How Did We Do It?
- Highly skilled street outreach team passionate
about re-housing people - Use of two national best practices for re-housing
the street homeless. - For clients with serious mental or physical
disabilities Permanent Supportive Housing
affordable apartments coupled with ongoing
tenant-based services - proven in research studies to be cost-effective
solution to homelessness for vulnerable people - services aimed at stabilizing clients, keeping
them housed, improving their health and
self-sufficiency - For homeless clients without disabilities
- Rapid Re-housing short-term rent assistance
coupled with case management aimed at achieving
self-sufficiency (job search, housing search,
budgeting)
7Claiborne Camp SurveyFebruary 20 21, 2008
- 46-question survey designed by Common Ground,
leading national non-profit developer of housing
for the homeless. - Includes Vulnerability Index to find those who
are at highest risk of dying on the street. - Surveys administered by Common Ground, UNITY,
Louisiana Public Health Institute, and NOPD
Homeless Assistance Collaborative. - Surveys administered 6 -9 am February 20 and 5-8
am February 21 - Woke each person up and asked to participate in
survey. - 118 of 150 persons participated in survey (79
response rate) - 32 persons who did not participate are believed
to have an even higher rate of disability then
those who did participate. - For example, 2 non-participants lacked capacity
to speak
8Claiborne Homeless Camp Demographics
- 82 percent male
- 86 percent from New Orleans area pre-Katrina
- 60 percent said they were homeless due to
Katrina - 31 percent lost FEMA trailer or FEMA rental
assistance - 64 percent slept in an abandoned building before
coming to the Claiborne Camp - 16 percent are U.S. Military Veterans
- Only 1 person sleeping in the Claiborne camp is a
UNITY client from the Duncan Plaza camp
9Disabilities of Claiborne Residents
- 80 percent have at least one disability
- 31 percent have more than one disability
- 19 percent are tri-morbid (have mental illness,
physical disability, and substance addiction) - 40 percent have mental illness
- 58 percent have substance addiction
- 14 percent have heart disease
- 10 percent have diabetes
- 4 percent have HIV/AIDS
- 4 percent have cancer
- 3 percent have liver disease
- 91 persons visited ER in past 3 months
- 75 percent have no health insurance
10One Third of the Residents are at High Risk of
Dying
- Based on Dr. Jim OConnell research from Bostons
Healthcare for the Homeless - A 40 mortality rate over 7 years if
- More than 6 months street homeless AND at least
one of the following - End Stage Renal Disease
- History of Cold Weather Injuries
- Liver Disease or Cirrhosis
- HIV/AIDS
- Over 60 years old
- Three or more emergency room visits in prior
three months - Three or more ER or hospitalizations in prior
year - Tri-morbid (mentally ill abusing substances
medical problem)
11Claiborne Encampment Risk Indicators
39 (33) of those surveyed met at least one
High-Risk Criteria
12Claiborne Encampment - Three Distinct Cohorts
13Claiborne Encampment - Vulnerability
14Claiborne Encampment - FEMA
31 lost FEMA trailer or Rental Assistance
15Claiborne Encampment Race/Ethnicity
16Institutional History
- 19 (15.6) are veterans
- 8 have VA insurance
- 3 have VA benefits
- 83 have been in jail
- 37 have been in prison
- 9 were in foster care
17Hospital Use by Claiborne Encampment Residents
61 hospitalizations reported by 118 respondents
18Emergency Room Visits by Claiborne Encampment
Residents
91 reported ER visits in past 3 months
19Where Claiborne Residents go for Routine Health
Care Needs
20Claiborne Encampment Emergency Health Care
Services
21Claiborne Encampment - Insurance
22Profile of a Claiborne Resident
- 42 year old man
- New Orleans resident for 26 years
- lived in a shelter before Katrina
- 5 years on the streets
- HIV/AIDS
- History of Hypothermia/Frostbite
- 4 trips to the ER in last 3 months
- Tri-morbid mentally ill abusing substances
medical problem - Surveyor suspected developmentally disabled
- No reported income or insurance
23How New Orleans Used the Vulnerability Survey
- To Determine Who to Rescue First, Given Scarce
Resources - To Determine Appropriate Housing Placement
- To Galvanize State and Local Government
(Especially Agencies Dealing with Medical Care
and Disability) to Immediately Fund Housing and
Services - To Wage Successful Nationwide Campaign for 3000
Supportive Housing vouchers for Louisianas
Hurricane-Devastated Areas - To Demonstrate that Medical Respite rather than
Emergency Shelter was Appropriate Interim Housing
For Most Residents While Case Managers Search for
Apartments - To Recruit Landlords to House Camp Residents
- To Mobilize a Community-Wide Drive for Furniture,
Appliances and Household Supplies for the Camp
Residents - To Counter Negative Attitudes Stereotypes About
Camp Residents - To Defeat Proposed Ordinance to Re-Criminalize
Homelessness
24For More Information on Ways to Use the
Vulnerability Index and on Humanitarian Closures
of Homeless Camps
Martha Kegel, Esq., Executive Director UNITY of
Greater New Orleans mkegel_at_unitygno.org Angela
Patterson, M.S.W. Director UNITY Welcome Home
(our awesome street outreach team) apatterson_at_unit
ygno.org Mike Miller, M.S.W. Director of
Supportive Housing Placement UNITY Welcome
Home mmiller_at_unitygno.org