Report: Homelessness on the Rise for Second Straight Year

NEW ORLEANS — From Unity of Greater New Orleans:

On April 18, Unity of Greater New Orleans released the official 2024 Point In Time Report, which is reported to the federal government and tracks the number of people currently experiencing homelessness in Orleans and Jefferson parishes. The findings show homelessness in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish has risen for the second straight year as rents have soared and pandemic congressional housing resources targeted specifically to people experiencing homelessness have ended. Today’s news conference was held at the Rosa Keller Apartment Building on Tulane Avenue, where many people rescued out of homelessness now live in permanent apartments.

Key findings:

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  • Local homelessness is up 20 percent over the past two years.
  • This year’s official count of homelessness is 5 percent more than last year’s. A total of 1454 people are now living in homeless shelters or on the street, compared to 1390 a year ago and 1214 two years ago.
  • Blacks, seniors, families, and women are especially hard-hit by the recent rise in homelessness.
  • Family homelessness has soared 69 percent in the past two years.
  • Homelessness among Black people has risen 7 percent in the past year, while homelessness among white people is down by 10 percent. Latino homelessness, while a small proportion of overall homelessness, has more than doubled since 2022.
  • Homelessness among women is up 17 percent since 2023. While street homelessness among men has decreased in the past year, the number of women living on the street has stayed constant. There are currently 126 women sleeping on the street, at high risk of sexual and other violence.
  • The number of seniors over 65 experiencing homelessness has increased by 78 percent over the past six years. Of all people experiencing homelessness in our commUnity, 28 percent – a total of 406 people — are over age 55. 114 people who are 65 and over are living in homeless shelters or on the street, while 292 people aged 55-64 are living in homeless shelters or on the street.
  • Only 27% of the 484 people sleeping on the streets live in encampments. *See attached map showing where people are living on the streets (broken down by zip code.)

Martha Kegel, executive director for Unity of Greater New Orleans, said despite the statistics, there is some good news. 

“Our goal this year is to provide permanent housing to 1140 individuals experiencing homelessness,” Kegel said. “It’s an ambitious goal, but we’re already making headway thanks to the efforts by the CommUnity Task Force to Reduce Street Homelessness.”

The CommUnity Task Force to Reduce Street Homelessness, co-chaired by William H. (Bill) Hines and retired judge Calvin Johnson, is made of a diverse mix of unhoused people, homeless service providers business and commUnity leaders, health care providers, health insurers, elected officials and public servants and criminal justice advocates from New Orleans and Jefferson Parish. Today, the Task Force provided an update on the progress of Unity’s new federal grant that began Jan. 1 with the goal of permanently housing 420 people currently living on the street within the next 12 months. Since January, the Task Force has permanently housed 48 individuals and another 49 have been referred to a housing program or are in housing search. 

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