Jill Hezeau / Eyewitness News The numbers are staggering: Officials with the organization UNITY of Greater New Orleans reported the city has one of the highest homeless rates in the country. Since Hurricane Katrina, the number of people homeless in Orleans and Jefferson parishes has increased by...
By Cain Burdeau, Associated Press NEW ORLEANS — The dark blue rescue van pulls up in front of a sad shell of a house, a few blocks from the police station and criminal court. It's turning into a cold January night. Slipping on gloves, social workers Mike...
by Lesley Simpson / Eyewitness News Posted on January 23, 2011 at 1:47 PM The homeless situation in New Orleans appears to be a growing challenge, with more people on the streets and limited spaces in local shelters to accommodate them. The issue becomes a special concern on...
by Monica Hernandez / Eyewitness News wwltv.com Posted on January 12, 2011 at 10:29 PM NEW ORLEANS- On a night when temperatures are expected to dip below freezing, Clarence White is on a mission. The UNITY outreach worker canvassed the entire New Orleans area Wednesday, working to get people off...
The tragic loss of eight young people, in the most lethal fire in New Orleans in 32 years, focuses attention on the problem of homelessness in abandoned buildings. The eight died last week trying to warm themselves with a fire in a barrel in a...
Published: Wednesday, December 29, 2010, 6:22 AM Updated: Wednesday, December 29, 2010, 6:45 AM By Editorial page staff, The Times-Picayune The fire that killed eight young people who were squatting in an abandoned 9th Ward building early Tuesday morning shows that blight and homelessness are ills that...
by Bill Quigley, Legal Director, Center ofr Constitutional Rights, Professor, Loyola New Orleans Posted December 28, 2010, Huffington Post Eight young people, who the Fire Department said were "trying to stay warm," perished in a raging fire during the night in New Orleans. They were squatting in...
Reported by: Sabrina Wilson, Reporter Email: swilson@fox8tv.net Last Update: 1/10 6:43 pm New Orleans - The wintry forecast for the rest of the week has some people in the city nervous about the possibility of more fires being ignited by squatters. Those concerns are fueled by a fire which...
Published: Sunday, December 26, 2010, 1:22 AM By Letters to the Editor Misunderstanding persists about the Esplanade Avenue building that UNITY of Greater New Orleans, a nonprofit organization, and our partners are seeking to revitalize. We plan to transform the former Bethany nursing home, abandoned since Hurricane Katrina,...
by Scott Satchfield / Eyewitness News wwltv.com Posted on December 13, 2010 at 10:16 PM Updated Monday, Dec 13 at 10:16 PM NEW ORLEANS -- It's a rescue effort in neighborhoods across the city. When temperatures plunge to dangerous, freezing levels -- as expected Monday night -- crews from UNITY...