This week is “National Sequestration Call-In Week!”
As early as next week, Congress is expected to come to some sort of deal on the “Fiscal Cliff.” The fiscal cliff includes sequestration, the automatic, 8.2 percent across-the-board cuts to non-defense, discretionary spending, which includes nearly all programs within the Department of Housing and Urban Development, including many affordable housing and homelessness programs. Join the Alliance and its partners across the country to call your Members of Congress to tell them the negative impacts sequestration would have on your communities’ efforts to prevent and end homelessness.
We must make sure to impart to our Members the importance of housing and homelessness programs in our communities before a final deal is made. Call your Members of Congress THIS WEEK as part of a National Call-In Week!
Here’s what you can do:
Step 1 Contact your Senators and Representative(s) THIS WEEK and ask to speak to the person who handles housing issues.
Congressman Cedric Richmond can be emailed here, reached by phone (202) 225-6636, or tweet @RepRichmond!
Senator Mary Landrieu can be emailed here, reached by phone (202) 224-5824, or tweet @senlandrieu!
Senator David Vitter can be emailed here or reached by phone (202) 224-4623.
Step 2 Use these talking points to explain how 8.2 percent cuts to HUD programs will negatively impact your community.
Step 3 Let UNITY know if you have any questions and/or which office(s) you contacted! Email Emily Danielson, Director of Research and Public Policy at edanielson@unitygno.org.
55 homeless moved from under the Pontchartrain Expressway to shelters
New Times-Picayune story by Laura Maggi about the dissolved Pontchartrain camp
About 55 people who had been staying under the Pontchartrain Expressway were told they must leave the area and moved into shelters early Friday morning. People were evaluated with the goal of eventually moving them into permanent housing, city officials said.
This spot under the highway, near the intersection of Calliope and Baronne Streets, has been a regular congregation point for the homeless. In late October last year, the city moved more than 100 people into shelters and “respite housing.”
Read the full story here.
Plans for state of the art apartments give N.O. homeless new lease on life
On Saturday, November 10, UNITY in partnership with the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority and many other government and non profit organizations, broke ground on the next Permanent Supportive Housing building at 2101 Louisiana Ave. Watch the report from WWLTV here.
Public-Private Partnership to Break Ground on Apartments for Workforce and Disabled Homeless
The New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) and UNITY of Greater New Orleans, the nonprofit coordinating the work of 60 organizations serving the homeless, will break ground Saturday, Nov. 10, at 10 a.m. to celebrate the beginning of construction on a mixed-income Permanent Supportive Housing building designed to help solve the problem of chronic homelessness while also providing affordable housing for the city’s workforce. The building, a former assisted living residence foreclosed on after Hurricane Katrina, is located at 2101 Louisiana Avenue in Central City. The ground-breaking ceremony is open to the public.
Read the full press release here.
Deadline for Housing First Request for Proposals Extended to September 17, 2012
Due to Hurricane Isaac, UNITY is extending the Request for Proposals deadline for the Housing First Project to Monday, September 17 at 9 a.m.
UNITY of Greater New Orleans, the lead agency for the homeless Continuum of Care for Orleans and Jefferson Parishes, is seeking proposals for the “Housing First Permanent Housing Project,” a new Permanent Supportive Housing tenant-based rental assistance project which will provide approximately 40 disabled homeless adults (and their families if applicable) their own apartments along with supportive services to help them remain stably housed. A total of $541,700 has been awarded to UNITY through the 2011 HUD CoC SuperNOFA competition for this project. This amount will fund one project sponsor for a 1-year grant period expected to begin by December 2012.
The RFP can be downloaded here.
Proposals must be received by Martha J. Kegel, Executive Director, UNITY of Greater New Orleans, no later than 9:00 a.m. on Monday, September 17, 2012. Proposals may be faxed to 504-821-4704 or emailed to Frances Misenheimer at fmisenheimer@unitygno.org or delivered to UNITY’s main office at 2475 Canal Street, Suite 300, NOLA 70119. If you have questions about the RFP, please contact Deputy Director Vicki Judice at vjudice@unitygno.org or 504-821-4496, ext. 105.
Love Sessions a Huge Success!
THANK YOU to everyone who came out to Love Sessions on Sunday to support UNITY. We are so grateful to musician extraordinaire and UNITY Communications Chair, Irvin Mayfield, for organizing the event, and to Kermit Ruffins and the Royal Sonesta Hotel for their generosity toward the cause of ending homelessness. Also, a big shout out goes to our event Patrons: Jack & Jennifer Benjamin, Bob & Caroline Brickman, Galen Brown & Liz Talbott, Jane Johnson, Meg Kollis, Martha Kegel & Rodney Clare Jackman, Jacques &Wendy Michell, Luz Molina, D. Majeeda Snead, and Luis & Regina Zervigon. What a great night.
Check out all the pictures here.
UNITY Releases Housing First Permanent Housing Project Request for Proposals
UNITY of Greater New Orleans, the lead agency for the homeless Continuum of Care for Orleans and Jefferson Parishes, is seeking proposals for the “Housing First Permanent Housing Project,” a new Permanent Supportive Housing tenant-based rental assistance project which will provide approximately 40 disabled homeless adults (and their families if applicable) their own apartments along with supportive services to help them remain stably housed. A total of $541,700 has been awarded to UNITY through the 2011 HUD CoC SuperNOFA competition for this project. This amount will fund one project sponsor for a 1-year grant period expected to begin by December 2012.
The RFP can be downloaded here.
Proposals must be received by Martha J. Kegel, Executive Director, UNITY of Greater New Orleans, no later than 9:00 a.m. on Monday, September 10, 2012. Proposals may be faxed to 504-821-4704 or emailed to Frances Misenheimer at fmisenheimer@unitygno.org or delivered to UNITY’s main office at 2475 Canal Street, Suite 300, NOLA 70119. If you have questions about the RFP, please contact Deputy Director Vicki Judice at vjudice@unitygno.org or 504-821-4496, ext. 105.
UNITY hosts 2012 Registry Week
Two years ago, New Orleans and Jefferson Parish, via the UNITY network of homeless service organizations, joined the 100,000 Homes Campaign, a national campaign to house 100,000 of the most vulnerable homeless persons in America by 2014. The 100,000 Homes Campaign is being spearheaded by our national partner Community Solutions/Common Ground Community, with support from the National Alliance to End Homelessness, United Way, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and many other groups.
New Orleans is one of the leaders of this exciting campaign and has already contributed significantly to the 100,000 goal. On July 23rd-25th UNITY will host a 100,000 Homes Registry Week to conduct Vulnerability Surveys of homeless persons sleeping in emergency shelters and those living on the streets. These surveys help us determine who is most vulnerable (that is, at risk of dying if not housed soon) and should be prioritized first for housing, according to national homeless mortality research. We are inviting some of our important partners to participate in the registry effort on that night by volunteering to administer Vulnerability Surveys.
There are many options for participation listed on the attached form. The street surveys will be administered to homeless people the nights of July 23rd and July 24th. The surveys in the shelters will take place in the evening of July 23rd and July 24th, and the mornings of July 24th and July 25th. Once we receive your registration we will provide you with more detailed information including meeting locations.
We hope it will be possible for you to volunteer, which is so critical to starting the process of housing our most vulnerable neighbors. If you have questions, please contact Emily Danielson at edanielson@unitygno.org or (504) 821-4496 ext 103.
What’s it like? Hear what previous volunteers had to say about their experience.
You can read more about this event here and register online here.
The importance of the Times-Picayune to the poor
Mr. Clifford Burchfield, pictured above, sleeps in an abandoned building in New Orleans with no plumbing, electricity or running water, but he still devours the news every day from the Times-Picayune newspaper.
Ribbon-cutting for The Rosa F. Keller Building
On June 22, 2012 the tenants of The Rosa F. Keller Building cut the ribbon for the grand opening of New Orleans first mixed-income, permanent supportive housing building for the homeless.
WWL-TV covered the story here.
