A new sanctuary

Although Louisiana’s 12,500 homeless represent a fraction of the state population, the number of homeless people skyrocketed by 111% from 2008 to 2009. That was the largest jump of any state, according to a 2011 report by the National Alliance to End Homelessness and the Homeless Research Institute, making it a dilemma that warrants closer attention.

Baton Rouge has 955 known residents without permanent housing. However, Randy Nichols, executive director of the Capital Area Association for the Homeless (CAAH), knows the figure is an undercount. U.S. Census survey information is voluntary, which makes an accurate count virtually impossible.

Of nearly 1,000 homeless people counted in the 2010 Census, 147 belonged to “households with dependent children,” a group that has many resources readily available to quickly relocate families looking for permanent residence.

The homeless are categorized into subpopulations. For example, 118 chronically homeless people reside in Baton Rouge, meaning they have either lived on the street or in a shelter four or more times in the past three years. And from these figures, one can interpret that most cases of homelessness are only temporary, since another nearly 900 homeless appear in the census count.

Nearly half of Baton Rouge’s homeless suffer from substance abuse.

“They’ll say ‘I can’t just take one drink, or I can’t get off my medication,’ but understanding the illness or problem is one of the biggest issues,” says CAAH’s Nichols. Substance abuse is far from the sole contributor to homelessness. Roughly 100 homeless people in Baton Rouge suffer from HIV/AIDS, another 100 are victims of domestic violence and nearly 50 more are homeless military veterans. But an even larger category, numbering 220, includes those who suffer from mental illness.

Samaritan hearts

Baton Rouge has about 350 permanent homeless spots, 600 transitional slots and yet another 220 to 275 emergency homeless locations available, Nichols says. That means the city can harbor more than 1,000 homeless individuals without straining the system.

Agencies divvy up and classify the homeless by category because there are varying funds and grants available to help the homeless. For example, funds are set aside specifically for those suffering with HIV/AIDS, mental illness or substance abuse. In Baton Rouge, temporary or permanent housing exists for each of these categories and more.

The O’Brien House, for example, serves recovering alcoholics and substance abusers. The Women’s Community Rehabilitation Center takes care of women suffering from domestic violence, while Youth Oasis helps children 18 and under.

CAAH consists of about 50 agencies serving the homeless with different needs in the Capital Area, including Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Pointe Coupee, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana parishes.

There also are various kinds of employment assistance. Programs range from GED computer courses to money management to parenting instruction. Although many homeless people end up in the food service industry, Nichols says instruction agencies try to learn their clients’ personal interests and guide them into appropriate fields.

The O’Brien House actually started a landscaping company specifically for those completing its substance abuse program. Upon finishing an online training course, patients can find their way back into society, hopefully toward a self-sufficient life.

“Churches were probably the first [organizations] to address homelessness,” says Nichols. “They are partnering with homeless service providers for things for which they lack the expertise or resources.

“Modern homelessness”

Homelessness in its modern form began in the early to mid-1980s, Nichols says, when an economic recession hit. It was small compared to the current national financial crunch, but it still struck many citizens suddenly, leaving them jobless. This caused many people to hit the streets in search of a job by day, but left some without residence by night.

In turn, this led to the start of emergency shelters, where anyone could grab a meal and a shower but had to go back onto the street at nightfall. Mental health wards also were beginning to turn patients onto the streets, directly increasing homelessness.

In 1987, U.S. Rep. Stewart McKinney, a Connecticut Republican, co-sponsored and pushed through Congress the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, the first significant federal funding program for the homeless. It wasn’t long before organizations realized temporary housing was not solving the problem—it only provided a quick fix for people with much larger, deeper problems. Thus began the chapter of rapid re-housing, attempting to send those in need through well-suited programs and getting them on their way to self-sustaining lives.

New center

Baton Rouge now has a one-stop services center for the homeless. A grand opening is scheduled this month for the Capital Area Alliance for the Homeless Services Center, located at 153 N. 17th Street. The facility integrates the various services available to the homeless, Nichols says.

The first floor will offer day center services such as showers, laundry, telephone and mail, as well as employment assistance and HIV/AIDS rapid testing. The center also offers outreach case management, primary medical, pharmacy and dental health care and life skills training.

The second and third floors feature 36 single sleeping units.

The 33,000-square-foot building will have an annual operating budget of roughly $1.67 million, covered mostly through federal grants.

“The goal is to end homelessness in Baton Rouge,” Nichols says. “You need affordable [housing] units, or at least temporary, if not long-term, rental subsidies, and a final piece for wrap-around supportive services.”

Nichols estimates the chronically homeless, who make up about 10% of homeless nationwide and in Baton Rouge, use roughly half the money and other resources allocated to homeless aid. Homeless people are not always the easiest to work with, Nichols says, but “everybody’s got to be somewhere.”

Read more stories from the streets at 225batonrouge.com.