Mayor Landrieu declares New Orleans first U.S. city to end veteran homelessness
Source: Gambit
New Orleans is the first U.S. city to declare it has virtually ended veteran homelessness. At the National World War II Museum's U.S. Freedom Pavilion Jan. 7, Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced that New Orleans has made good on its promise to First Lady Michelle Obama's challenge to U.S. mayors to end homelessness among military veterans.
??Thanks to a comprehensive partnership effort with federal, state and local agencies, the city housed 227 homeless veterans in 2014. The nationwide challenge is to eradicate veteran homelessness by the end of this year.
??"We leaned in," Landrieu said. "We have achieved that promise." The plan is part of Landrieu's 10-year program to end homelessness, announced in 2011. The city partnered with homeless advocacy group Unity of Greater New Orleans, Volunteers of America and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other groups to meet that goal.
??"It's shocking that people who risked their lives for us would be reduced to foraging for food on the street, using the sidewalk as their pillow," said Unity Director Martha Kegel. "The mayor had to right that wrong immediately. ... Now the challenge is keeping veteran homelessness at a functional zero."
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