Nagin to present upbeat "State of the City" amid ongoing social disaster

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin will deliver his 2008 "State of the City" address this evening at the Port of New Orleans Cruise Terminal, and it's expected to be a boosterish affair, the Times-Picayune reports:

"I look forward to speaking again with our citizens about the recovery of New Orleans," said Nagin in a written statement this morning. "I said during my budget address to the City Council last year that we are reaching the tipping point, and the evidence bears that out."

Among those things he sees as indicators of the city's recovery: its hosting this year of seven major events, including the NBA All-Star Game; the population reaching 72 percent of pre-Katrina levels; unemployment nearing all-time lows; and the demolition of more than 8,000 storm-damaged properties.

What Nagin probably won't discuss in detail tonight is the ongoing social disaster in the city, where a severe lack of affordable housing has contributed to an estimated doubling of the homeless population since Hurricane Katrina to about 12,000. Asked about homelessness earlier this month at a panel discussion sponsored by the American Association for Public Opinion Research, Nagin first charged that the people living on the city's streets came from elsewhere -- then quipped that the solution was one-way bus tickets out of town.

In fact, a survey [ppt] conducted earlier this year by Unity of Greater New Orleans, a coalition of advocates for the homeless, found that 86 percent of people living in the city's encampments were from the New Orleans area. Sixty percent said they were homeless because of Hurricane Katrina, and about 30 percent said they had received rental assistance at one time from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

A story in today's New York Times details the conditions suffered by those living in one encampment under a highway overpass not far from the French Quarter. About 80 percent of the camp's residents have at least one physical disability, 58 percent struggle with addiction, and 40 percent are mentally ill. One person who has since been moved to a safer shelter was a paranoid schizophrenic, diabetic, double amputee whose stumps had become infected from the filth.

The horrendous conditions are presenting a health risk to outreach workers -- and to the larger public as well:

Mike Miller, the director of supportive housing placement at Unity, said the camp had become a public health hazard since the city removed some portable toilets in February.

"Two outreach workers have tested positive for tuberculosis," Mr. Miller said. "There's hepatitis C, there's AIDS, there's H.I.V. Everyone out there's had an eye infection of some sort. I got one."

Before Katrina, New Orleans had 2,800 beds for the homeless; that number is now down almost 30 percent to 2,000, despite the greater need. The situation is also dire for those whose health problems preclude living in group shelters due to the shortage of affordable apartments. That shortage in turn has been worsened by city, state and federal officials' decision to demolish four public housing complexes in New Orleans that had been barely damaged by the storm without first providing replacement units.

Last week, the U.S. Senate passed a spending measure that includes $76 million for vouchers to provide rent subsidies and services to 3,000 disabled homeless people in the city. Unfortunately, the current House version of the legislation does not include that voucher funding. And if Congress does not act soon, even those people already receiving help will be in trouble, as the current vouchers expire at the end of this year.

In the meantime, Unity has put out a call for donations to help those homeless it does manage to settle in apartments. Among the items needed are small dressers, box fans, night stands, microwaves, televisions, mini-refrigerators, small appliances, hangers, new mattresses, cleaning supplies, toiletries, dining room tables and chairs, and bookcases. The group cannot accept clothing, shoes, toys, or used mattresses, but monetary donations are welcome and tax-deductible. For a text document with donation details, click here.