Governor forces out homeless people by New Orleans Superdome before Super Bowl
NEW ORLEANS– As New Orleans prepares to host the Super Bowl next month, Louisiana authorities on Wednesday cleared homeless encampments around the stadium and moved many to a temporary warehouse that will cost millions of dollars to operate.
Governor Jeff Landry has framed the move — which city officials say undermines their efforts to address homelessness — as part of an effort to secure New Orleans, especially in the wake of New Year’s Day. attack that killed 14 people.
The tough-on-crime Republican governor has spoken about plans to improve Louisiana’s most popular city ahead of the Super Bowl at the Superdome. That includes a new one Louisiana State Police Troop dedicated to New Orleans, remove homeless encampments elsewhere in the city, and ensuring highways, sidewalks and transportation lines are clean and safe.
“It is in the best interest of every citizen’s safety to provide the unhoused with humane and safe shelter as we begin to welcome the world to the city of New Orleans for both Super Bowl LIX and Mardi Gras,” Landry said in a statement from Monday. .
Last week, the state Supreme Court overturned one restraining order that had ruled out state police of clearing homeless encampments in New Orleans. Days after the ruling, state “relocation notices” appeared at one of the city’s largest homeless encampments, under an underpass near the Superdome. The message warned that “everyone must comply” and “failure to comply may result in enforcement action or legal prosecution.” procedure.”
On Wednesday morning, state police gathered at the encampment and told people to pack their belongings in boxes and that buses were available to take them to a “transition center” miles away at a gated warehouse owned by the Port of New Orleans .
People in the encampment were told they did not have to go to the transition center, but were not allowed to remain in the area and were threatened with arrest, Mike Steele, a spokesman for the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said. told the Associated Press.
Among those at the camp was Ray Cooper, who searched for his Social Security card among scattered clothing, bicycles and tents. Cooper, 35, has lived largely on the streets in recent years and has rejected the state’s offer to take him to the transition center.
“That just put me off: We’re going to a warehouse? I’m not a UPS package or anything like that, I’m a human being,” Cooper said.
The temporary center can accommodate 200 people. As of Wednesday evening, 131 people were staying there, said Bart Farmer, president of Workforce Group, a disaster relief company that operates the site.
The center includes three meals a day, bedding, showers, toilets, refrigeration for medications and veterinary care for their pets, according to the move notice. The site will cost the state an estimated $16.2 million to operate over 90 days, according to a proposal from the Workforce Group and obtained by the AP.
Critics claim the move downtown is a band-aid solution. In a letter to the governor from 12 community organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, the groups expressed “serious concerns about the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and long-term impact of this approach.”
“Evidence-based best practices for ending homelessness focus on permanent housing with supportive services,” said Martha Kegel, who leads UNITY, an agency that partners with the city on efforts to house and support the homeless population.
Part of Landry’s homelessness strategy, announced Monday, states that housing and services will be prioritized for “citizens who have jobs” and that people “who have resources will be provided with out-of-state bus or train tickets.” While details surrounding the plan are still unclear, Steele said out-of-state moves would be voluntary.
Landry’s approach clashes with the city of New Orleans’ plans to close the same encampments by first providing long-term housing to the people living there. The city said it has requested $6 million from the state to help with these efforts and that state-led actions are causing “delays” in providing housing and services to the city’s approximately 1,500 homeless people.
Candice Allison, 63, who said she has been homeless ever since Hurricane Ida destroyed her caravan in 2021, sorting through a mass of clothes and other items she hoped to salvage on Wednesday, fearing authorities would return to seize her belongings.
“I’ve been doing this all night, I haven’t eaten, I haven’t slept, I’m exhausted,” Allison said.
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Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Brook on X: @jack_brook96