NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Lawmakers and city leaders say a recent state legislative audit raises more questions than answers about the effectiveness of current homeless relief efforts in the New Orleans metro area.
The audit examined how more than $216.3 million in taxpayer money was spent on homeless initiatives between January 2019 and June 2024 by the City of New Orleans and the nonprofit UNITY of Greater New Orleans. Auditors set out to measure UNITY’s performance, but said they were impeded by the nonprofit’s resistance to producing detailed data and records.
Data from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) show the homeless population in Orleans and Jefferson parishes jumped 19.8% since 2022…