NEW ORLEANS — As Bayou Classic weekend approached, the state began warning unhoused individuals to move.
On Monday, state agencies were expected to begin sweeping encampments in the French Quarter, but a New Orleans judge granted a temporary restraining order halting State Police and Wildlife Agents' efforts.
Louisiana State Police tell WWL Louisiana the TRO is being reviewed by LSP's legal team and the Louisiana Attorney General's Office.
“If a judge believes that people have a right to be on whatever public space they choose, maybe that judge should have them move into her chambers and courtroom," Governor Jeff Landry said in response to the TRO.
Meantime, Council President Helena Moreno is putting the microscope on Unity of Greater New Orleans, the main provider of homeless services for Orleans and Jefferson Parishes.
At a Bayou Classic press conference on Monday, Moreno asked in an interview with WWL Louisiana, where was Unity during the previous encampment sweeps?
“They get tens of millions of dollars every year to deal with this situation," Moreno said, "I just always wonder are they carrying their load?"
Unity's Director of Community Engagement, Joe Heeren-Meuller, said the agency provides permanent housing and services to at least 3,500 people at any given time.
“We don’t have a role in the so-called sweeps. In fact, I’m taken aback that there’s any idea out there that we might not be sufficiently engaged in them," Heeren-Meuller said.
Unity disagreed with the state's approach when they moved around 75 individuals to another encampment ahead of Taylor Swift weekend, but it was unclear if the agency had anyone on the ground assisting the City during that time.
“We are not intimidated by strong headwinds or rough waters. Distractions such as these do impact our ability to house people in a timely fashion. The sweeps are not something that we do. Human beings are not so much garbage to be swept away," Heeren-Meuller said, "But displacing people is not a solution to homelessness, housing is a solution to homelessness.”
Right now, state auditors are looking into how Unity is using federal funds to help the homeless.
Unity said it has housed nearly 1,300 people in the last 13 months. Of that, nearly 500 were living on the streets.
The agency prioritizes the disabled, mothers with children and those fleeing domestic violence situations, Heeren-Meuller said.
In the meantime, Moreno said the City's Office Of Homeless Services and Strategy is working hard, and she wants to see more urgency from others.
“It was very disorganized during everything that happened with Taylor Swift. What I want, is I want people rapidly rehoused, and everyone who is supposed to be taking part in rapid rehousing to be pulling their weight," Moreno said.
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