N.O. Homeless Housing Plan Focuses On Shelters

The City of New Orleans was faced with two options for dealing with the homeless: One option focused on moving the homeless into permanent housing while the other option was to place them in shelters. One would think that the permanent housing option would be more feasible. Which plan do you think the City of New Orleans chose? According to the T-P, the City chose the shelters.

The city plans to partner with the New Orleans Mission, rather than UNITY for the Homeless.

While UNITY has focused on moving the homeless into permanent housing -- a relatively new tactic national experts say produces results -- the mission will employ a more traditional sheltering approach. The mission aims to provide communal housing until people can save for their own apartments.

UNITY's approach, often called "housing first," may be in vogue, but does not address the causes of homelessness, said the mission's director, Ron Gonzales.

According to the experts, what New Orleans most needs, they say, is a coordinated, long-term plan that uses field-tested methods -- like those used here by UNITY -- that have produced impressive declines in homelessness in dozens of cities, including New York, Chicago, Seattle, Denver, Dallas and St. Louis.

Do you think New Orleans made a bad decision?