Post-Katrina Homeless Camps in New Orleans

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Post-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
[phone] Ext. 103 Fax [phone]
Web www.unitygno.org
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New 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)

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Homelessness 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.
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The 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.
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Primary 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

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How 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)

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Claiborne 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

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Claiborne 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

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Disabilities 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

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One 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)

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Claiborne Encampment Risk Indicators
39 (33) of those surveyed met at least one
High-Risk Criteria
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Claiborne Encampment - Three Distinct Cohorts
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Claiborne Encampment - Vulnerability
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Claiborne Encampment - FEMA
31 lost FEMA trailer or Rental Assistance
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Claiborne Encampment Race/Ethnicity
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Institutional 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

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Hospital Use by Claiborne Encampment Residents
61 hospitalizations reported by 118 respondents
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Emergency Room Visits by Claiborne Encampment
Residents
91 reported ER visits in past 3 months
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Where Claiborne Residents go for Routine Health
Care Needs
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Claiborne Encampment Emergency Health Care
Services
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Claiborne Encampment - Insurance
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Profile 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

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How 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

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For 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