BATON ROUGE, LA — April 11, 2018 — Today, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome announced the results of the Homelessness to Housing Initiative, a program aimed at securing permanent housing for citizens previously living beneath the North Boulevard overpass, also known as the Trevor J. Sims Memorial Bridge.
In December 2017, a local developer submitted a request to stage construction equipment beneath the overpass, a known homeless encampment. Rather than disperse the population residing in the area, Mayor Broome convened a coalition of service providers and charged them with implementing a rapid rehousing solution to move people experiencing homelessness into housing.
The partners of this program conducted street outreach to citizens residing under the overpass identified available rental units, and provided reintegration support.
Through this effort, we not only secured long-term housing for citizens, but many have rejoined the workforce and are now thriving,” said Mayor Broome. “Our community partners were instrumental in making this project a success, and we thank them for their efforts to combat homelessness year-round.
To date, 31 adults and five children have been housed using Rapid Rehousing funds made available to Louisiana through the Louisiana Housing Corporation following the August 2016 flood. Rapid Rehousing dollars are budgeted to support citizens who have been placed in housing.
Partners in the homelessness initiative include:
- Louisiana Housing Corporation
- Start Corporation
- Capital Area Alliance for the Homeless/One Stop
- St. Vincent de Paul
- It Takes A Village
- Options Foundation
- Way Home
- Christian Outreach Center
- Baton Rouge Police Department
- Volunteers of America
- Downtown Development District
- Capital Area Transit System
- Leo's Trailer Park
“Partnerships are key in the work to end homelessness,” said Nicole Sweazy, Executive Director of the Louisiana Housing Authority. “Replicating the efforts of this initiative will lead us to end homelessness not only in Baton Rouge but throughout the entire state.”
For information on local efforts to sustain previously homeless citizens in housing either through monetary or other donations, contact non-profit It Takes A Village, at 225-443-0780 or ItTakesAVillage.BR@gmail.com.