Solutions to Benefit Local Homeless Discussed at Mayor’s Summit on Homelessness
Alexandria, La. – (March 3, 2022) – More than 70 people came together Thursday morning in Convention Hall to take part in Alexandria Mayor Jeff Hall’s third annual Mayor’s Summit on Homelessness.
Leaders of local support agencies including the Central Louisiana Homeless Coalition, the Salvation Army, Hope House, Volunteers of America and the Alexandria Veterans Affairs Health System were joined by faith-based organization leaders, health care providers and average citizens seeking to make a difference. Together they focused on identifying issues facing the local homeless population as well as the agencies that serve them and working to create solutions to address the challenges.
“The more people know how they can help, the more they will step up and help,” Hall said. “That is why we launched this Mayor’s Summit on Homelessness, trying to be proactive and get folks working together. We can’t make the problem go away by erasing it from our minds. This is a community challenge that will require a community solution.”
Joseph Buzzetta, executive director of the Central Louisiana Homeless Coalition, noted the number of people requesting services is increasing. “In 2019-2020, we had more than 1,200 people requesting service. Not all ended up on the street, but if you figure just 5 percent did, that’s 60 people,” he said. “In 2021 we had 1,000 requests. So far this year, since January, we have seen 392 people requesting service. If this trend continues as is, we are well on our way to passing our 2019-2020 count. Ultimately, we are seeing more people and not more services.”
One aspect that is frequently mentioned regarding homelessness is the number of blighted and abandoned buildings in the city. Shirley Branham, administrator of the City of Alexandria Community Development Department, noted homeless individuals often seek shelter in abandoned homes and the City has significantly increased its efforts to remove abandoned property.
“The City has budgeted $609,000 this year for demolition,” she said. “In past administrations, we averaged about $80,000 per year. Mayor Hall has made sure that every year we add to that.” The City budgeted $180,000 for demolition in the 2019-2020 budget year, $350,000 in the 2020-2021 budget year and $609,000 for the 2021-2022 budget year. “Mayor Hall’s administration has put $1.2 million towards the effort of removing abandoned structures,” Branham said, drawing applause from the crowd.
Buzzetta noted that when it comes to dealing with blighted and abandoned properties cities are limited in what they can do by Louisiana law. “At this point, if we want to deal with blighted properties, we have got to reach out to local legislators and local lawmakers to figure out the best way for us to reform some of these tenant laws to make them fair for tenants but also fair to neighborhoods,” he said. “At the end of the day, there is a blight tax for these properties that makes people’s nest egg of property value go down because of blight.”
Each of the speakers noted the various factors that lead to people becoming homeless. Those often include mental health and substance abuse issues. Economic hardships, including the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic such as job losses and rising costs associated with supply chain issues, as well as rising inflation have pushed some people who were on the brink of homelessness over the edge.
Pastor Cedric Jefferson of Global Impact Ministries said he is seeing a positive change in the community as people are coming together to address the homeless challenge. “It’s changing on the streets. At one time, people who were homeless were very rude, disrespectful, not thankful, unappreciative. But now they are appreciative,” Jefferson said. He noted his church has a facility known as Ron’s House that provides shelter. In addition, they offer programs that address lifestyle choices and habits in an effort to lead people to overcome the addictions or poor choices that lead to them being on the street as well as money management assistance.
“We are watching this city get better and better,” Jefferson said. “People are changing in Alexandria on the streets. We are actually seeing people who used to sell dope come off the streets. You need to get the good report. The good report is people are changing in this city. This city is going to be the best city in three years of any city in the state of Louisiana. Whether people see it or not, I’m telling you, mark my words, people are changing. Don’t believe all the hype – your city is changing. The answer is here, but you have to get involved. You have to get in their lives.”
Speakers also reinforced that giving money to panhandlers may seem like a generous thing to do, but it hurts more than it helps. “I love what the Mayor was saying – you’re crippling them. You are actually hurting them,” Jefferson said in regard to those who give money to panhandlers. “I don’t know if it’s a guilt thing going on. Maybe we feel bad about some other stuff in the past. We need to kill that. We need to stop and think ‘Are we going to be effective?’”
Efforts to increase the inventory of shelter space as well as affordable housing was also addressed. Heather Breithaupt with the Salvation Army of Alexandria said the agency recently received approval to build a new facility that will add much-needed space for women and children in need of shelter. “Our new facility will include 16 beds for women, 12 beds for women with children, and four veterans’ dorms.” She noted the Salvation Army conducts two mass feedings each day, one for breakfast and one for dinner, serving 80-100 people at each meal. The new $5.7 million shelter facility is expected to open in March of 2023.
Jeff Matthews, volunteer coordinator with the Hope House, said the agency is planning to build affordable housing units in what they are calling Hope Community. “Hope House is a transitional housing facility for homeless families. We have a small number of emergency beds for short-term stays, but that is not really our focus. Our focus is giving these families a long-term, safe, stable place to live,” Matthews said, adding they served 121 people last year, of which roughly half were children.
In an effort to facilitate long-term solutions, the agency has purchased property and plans to start construction on four affordable housing units. “We have the property purchased. We have some construction funding,” Matthews said. He said they hope to begin construction soon and will continue to build additional units as they obtain additional funding. “It is not our vision for this to be a four-house neighborhood. It is our vision for this to be a 20-house neighborhood,” Matthews said.
Jefferson acknowledged the support of the administration, local law enforcement and local support agencies working together is making a positive difference in the community. “Look around – look at the Mayor, he has a heart,” Jefferson said. “We are in the best position we have ever been. I got to commend my Chief of Police, the Sheriff, (City Marshal Jerome) Hopewell. Those guys. I wouldn’t be able to do what I am doing if I didn’t have those guy’s help. Man, it is such an impact to have people who try to work with you as you impact these young guys that got in trouble then you can go in and they work with you so you can change these people’s life.”
In closing, Buzzetta urged groups and agencies to continue working together and for more people to get involved, stressing the key to continuing to make a difference is to continue to follow up. “At the end of the day, we can’t have more said than done. We have got to have some action taken.”
To see a recording of the full summit, go to https://www.facebook.com/cityofalexandria/videos/429671645600251.
Contact:
Jim Smilie
Communications
318.449.5038 (Office)
318.730.1683 (Cell)
jim.smilie@cityofalex.com
