What happens after the encampments are cleared? [Video]

The city of New Orleans is no stranger to hosting large national events, but an upcoming Super Bowl has city leaders rushing to clean up homeless encampments as they await an influx of tourists. While it’s one thing to do the cosmetic work of cleaning up roads and bridges, there’s still the problem of dealing with the actual people being moved. Joseph Heeren-Mueller, Director of Community Engagement for UNITY of Greater New Orleans, has been dealing with the unhoused and the issues they face up close. He says not only do the homeless in New Orleans need housing, but supportive services to help them re-integrate.

Heeren-Mueller is also quick to dispel many of the notions around the unhoused in New Orleans. He says that many of the unhoused in the area work one or multiple jobs, but the income is insufficient to find housing for them and their families. He …