City hosts Second Annual Mayor’s Summit on Homelessness
Program Addresses 2021 Response to 2020 Challenges
Alexandria, La. (February 11, 2021) — Alexandria Mayor Jeffrey W. Hall hosted the second annual Mayor’s Summit on Homelessness Thursday morning. The meeting, which featured speakers from the Central Louisiana Homeless Coalition, Alexandria Housing Authority and the Louisiana Housing Corporation, was held as a virtual meeting due to COVID-19 restrictions on in-person meetings.
“Homelessness is a serious challenge in most every urban city, and Alexandria is no exception,” Hall explained. “Whether it’s the folks you see on street corners or sleeping on sidewalks or at underpasses, or the folks you don’t see living in tents tucked away in the woods along the Red River and railway lines, these are all individuals in need of help. We made good progress as a result of this meeting last year. But, as our speakers shared today, 2020 brought new challenges, from hurricanes, which left roughly 10,000 people homeless, to the effects of the COVID pandemic, and we are starting to see an increase in the number of first-time homeless.”
Presenters included Joseph Buzzetta, executive director of the Central Louisiana Homeless Coalition, Stephan Fontenot, executive director of the Alexandria Housing Authority, and Josh Dean, continuum of care coordinator with the Louisiana Housing Corporation.
Buzzetta noted that while the overall number of homeless individuals in Alexandria has been decreasing, national projections anticipate an increase of 25-50 percent as the result COVID-19. “We’re at around 120 homeless individuals currently, so if that increases by 50 percent that could be another 60 people coming onto a system that is already at capacity,” he said.
He added he is seeing an increase in panhandling locally as well as more “visible homeless” with people taking shelter in public places as opposed to hidden campsites. Regarding panhandling, Buzzetta stressed the need to educate residents not to give to people asking for money on street corners. “Very few homeless people are panhandling, and for those who do it is very dangerous,” he said, noting when a homeless person gets cash working a street corner it can make them a target for thieves.
Potential solutions regarding providing shelter were offered by Fontenot and Dean. Fontenot talked about a housing voucher program for homeless veterans. Working in conjunction with the Alexandria VA Medical Center, Fontenot said the Alexandria Housing Authority is able to immediately issue vouchers to homeless veterans as soon as they apply for aid.
Dean detailed the Housing Heroes program, which recruits landlords to offer affordable rental housing to low-income individuals. Dean said the program can provide guaranteed income for the landlord while providing quality housing as well as other support services for low-income families.
“This is a community challenge, and it will take all of us working together to make a real difference in reducing the number of homeless individuals and helping get folks back on their feet,” Hall said. “This wasn’t a one-day meeting where we talk about a problem for 90 minutes and move on. We will be following up on the action items identified and working to continue to educate residents about the dangers of panhandling, working to recruit more landlords to become Housing Heroes, finding ways to increase the amount of available short-term housing for the homeless. There are no quick solutions. This will require an ongoing commitment and we are in this for the long haul to ensure we get our area homeless the support and services they need.”
Contact:
Jim Smilie
Communications
318.449.5038
318.730.1683
jim.smilie@cityofalex.com
