Two years ago, New Orleans had millions of dollars in housing funds, a brand new office dedicated to homeless services and a bold mission to tackle the city’s homelessness crisis once and for all.
Now, after securing housing for nearly 1,400 people and clearing encampments across downtown New Orleans, the director of that effort says that proposed funding cuts for the program could put the city back at square one.
In his office’s annual budget hearing before the New Orleans City Council on Wednesday, Nathaniel Fields, the director of the Office of Homeless Services, will present the bleak state of affairs as the council considers a 2026 spending plan with deep cuts across a range of city departments. The City Council must approve a budget by Dec. 1…