This morning, Alison and I went to City Hall to attend a meeting between some representatives of Homeless Pride and Mr. Jonas Nash, the Director of Community Relations for Council member James Carter of New Orleans. The meeting itself was pretty unproductive, but Homeless Pride had some insight concerning the conditions under the bridge.
They definitely agree that conditions are worse than at Tent City. More tents have caught fire, there are more drugs, more injuries, and several women have been raped. The "CEO"Homeless Pride, Steve, stated that NOPD doesn't make rounds under the bridge. Steve claims that he has to keep the law, himself... I didn't ask any further questions about that.
We also heard that there is going to be a discussion about homelessness in the City Council Chamber on February 20th.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Homeless Healthcare Resources
Thanks to Richard Brucker (TU med. school), we now have a complete list of healthcare resources for the homeless... read it below!! Feel free to print it out and distribute it to anyone who you think may benefit from this information. THANKS RICHARD!!!
... it seems that I am having trouble with formatting this table to my blog... so if you want the whole table, just e-mail me (dot.contiguglia@gmail.com), and I can forward you the whole document.... if anyone knows how to upload documents like this to a blog, PLEASE let me know.MEDICATION AID:
Wal-Mart offers over 360 prescription drugs at only $4 per 30-day supply. Please ask your doctor if the prescription is available through the
Wal-Mart $4 Prescription Program. If your prescription is for a name-brand medication, ask your doctor to recommend a generic alternative.
Target has a similar $4 Prescription Program too!
If you are homeless, the Ozanam Inn (843 Camp) will give you a voucher for most prescriptions so that you do not have to pay.
| NAME | ADDRESS | HOURS | PHONE | DESCRIPTION |
| Healthcare for the Homeless Program: Edna Pilsbury Health Clinic | | Monday-Friday | 504-658-2825 | Need to come with a letter from a homeless service provider * Physical exams, medical diagnosis, and treatment * Flu vaccines * Limited medications * referrals for x-rays * lab tests * Dental care * Mental health (appointment only) * Provides referrals for substance abuse treatment * For the homeless * FREE. |
| | 1803 Gravier St. ( | Mon, Wed, Fri: 10 am -1 pm | 504-273-5547 (extention 1) | General medical care * Prescriptions written * When available medicine dispensed * Psychiatry on Monday and Wednesday * Free * A homeless outreach center. |
| Fleur de Vie Clinic | (Covenant House) | 2nd and 4th Saturday each month 9am – 2pm (last patient seen at 1pm) | 504-988-3000 | This is a free clinic run by Tulane Medical Students. Every patient is seen by medical students and then by the doctor. Walk-in Medical Care * Mental Health Visits * Social Workers Available * Health Education * Prescriptions * Servicios en Español |
| | | Mon & Thurs: 8am – 7pm. Arrive at 7:45 AM Tues, Wed & Fri: 8 am – 5 pm | 504-988-3000 | Walk-in ok * $10 for walk in, $5 for appointment, FREE if unable to pay * each patient can be assigned a primary physician to lead their medical home team * on-site mental health counseling * behavioral health services * geriatrics care * reproductive health services. |
| Common Ground Health Clinic | (corner Socrates), Algers | Mon: 2-5 pm Tue: 9 am - 12 noon Wed: 10 am -3 pm Sat: 12-3 pm | 504-361-9800 | Walk-in health care * prescriptions * prescription assistance * counseling * herbal medicine * massage & body work * servicios en español * health education * HIV testing * physical therapy * vaccinations * free |
Odyssey House Health Clinic | | Mon, Wed, Friday 1 pm – 5 pm | 504-821-9211 | Offers free primary health care * vaccinations |
| Kingsley House (Medical Bus) | | Tues 9 am – 4 pm | 504-523-6221 | Basic Health Care * Vaccinations * New prescriptions only * Free * Walk-in OK * For Children Only |
| | | Mon – Fri: 8am – 5pm | 504-529-5558 | Comprehensive Primary Care * Eye Clinic * Cardiology (Heart) * ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat) * Cancer Screening NOTE: They accept Medicaid and Medicare. Cancer screening programs, optometry (eye), and ENT programs are FREE to eligible patients. For primary care there is a $20 minimum for each visit. Eligible for up to 90% discount for services provided, based on income and family size. |
| St. Anna’s Medical Mission | | Wed: 4 – 6 pm | 504-947-2121 | HIV testing * blood pressure screenings * glucose screenings * basic office visit * FREE |
| LSU | (St. Anna’s) | Thurs: 8:30 am – 3:30 pm | 504-903-7307 | FREE DENTAL CLINIC * by appointment only * For those without access to dental care * Need referral from HIV Service Agencies or St. Anna’s Medical Mission. |
| NO AIDS | | Mon: 1:00 – 3:00 pm Tues: 4:30 – 7:30 pm Wed: 5:00 – 7:00 pm Thurs: 4:30 – 7:30 pm Fri: 1:00 – 3:00 pm Sat: 1:00 – 3:00 pm | 504-821-2601 | Free HIV testing and counseling * anonymous * get your results in less than an hour. For more locations call the statewide HIV/AIDS hotline toll free at (800)-99AIDS9 or (800)-992-4379. |
| Ozanam Inn | | Mon – Fri: Evenings Sat. 12 pm – 4 pm | 504-523-1184 | Weekdays - Free TB testing during the week for the homeless staying at Ozanam Inn. Must put in a bed request by 4:00 PM. Saturday – Basic office visit * for the homeless * run by LSU medical students * prescriptions given * free * TB tests given * Do not need to spend the night to see the doctor. |
| Luke's House | | Tues: 5:30 pm – 8 pm | 504-899-3431 x 14 | basic primary care for adults and children * pastoral counseling * mental health counseling * referrals * FREE * Childhood immunizations for low-income families |
Bad times
So, I've been visiting the I-10 folks over the past few days... things are NOT looking up. It's cold, people are losing their morale, as they have lost their spotlight now that they are removed from Duncan Park, and it seems that more people are walking around with fight and car accident-related injuries.
I found my friend, Dale again. Apparently he was one of the few lucky ones to get a hotel room through Unity for the Homeless when Duncan Park was shut down... but he, and some others, were soon kicked out of the hotel. I could not get a full story as to what happened ... Dale and his friends were heavily intoxicated ... but I would definitely like to know why people who were provided housing by Unity are now back on the streets.
And... another note about Unity's program... I am not criticizing them, as I have not worked with them... but I can only tell about what I am seeing on the street. Many folks who HAVE housing with Unity are ending up back under the bridge. They are complaining that they do not have jobs. ANOTHER chief complaint is that people who are coming in from outside of Louisiana are getting homes from Unity, while homeless New Orleanians are still stuck under I-10.
During my visit today, I encountered a couple of 18 year olds as well as a mother and child living under the bridge. The mother stated that her husband gets enough money during the day in order to get them a cheap motel room for the night, while they use whatever is left to buy food... but during the day, she has to stay under the bridge with her child (who I estimate to be about 2 years old).
In other news, the St. Joseph Rebuild Center (located on Tulane avenue), which provides showers, laundry, and legal services for the homeless, was broken into, last Thursday and Saturday. They had to close the center in order to "re-do" the locks, but are scheduled to re-open this Friday. The bridge inhabitants were definitely in an uproar about this and were very angry to hear that someone robbed the center.
I apologize for the poor quality of my writing... but it's hard to be creative with my English when I have so much studying to do. It's more important that I at least get this information out, when I can. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned... :)
I found my friend, Dale again. Apparently he was one of the few lucky ones to get a hotel room through Unity for the Homeless when Duncan Park was shut down... but he, and some others, were soon kicked out of the hotel. I could not get a full story as to what happened ... Dale and his friends were heavily intoxicated ... but I would definitely like to know why people who were provided housing by Unity are now back on the streets.
And... another note about Unity's program... I am not criticizing them, as I have not worked with them... but I can only tell about what I am seeing on the street. Many folks who HAVE housing with Unity are ending up back under the bridge. They are complaining that they do not have jobs. ANOTHER chief complaint is that people who are coming in from outside of Louisiana are getting homes from Unity, while homeless New Orleanians are still stuck under I-10.
During my visit today, I encountered a couple of 18 year olds as well as a mother and child living under the bridge. The mother stated that her husband gets enough money during the day in order to get them a cheap motel room for the night, while they use whatever is left to buy food... but during the day, she has to stay under the bridge with her child (who I estimate to be about 2 years old).
In other news, the St. Joseph Rebuild Center (located on Tulane avenue), which provides showers, laundry, and legal services for the homeless, was broken into, last Thursday and Saturday. They had to close the center in order to "re-do" the locks, but are scheduled to re-open this Friday. The bridge inhabitants were definitely in an uproar about this and were very angry to hear that someone robbed the center.
I apologize for the poor quality of my writing... but it's hard to be creative with my English when I have so much studying to do. It's more important that I at least get this information out, when I can. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned... :)
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
oh.. the clothing drive...
Also, we held a winter clothing drive which was very successful. We had so much stuff, it was overflowing from our boxes... even two weeks into the drive we were STILL getting tons of goods. Some funny items included a frying pan and a camera... hey, you never know when you'll find a stove or some batteries lying in the street... but, it was ALL awesome.
THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO DONATED AND HELPED TO DISTRIBUTE.
THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO DONATED AND HELPED TO DISTRIBUTE.
Long time...
Hey everyone,
Thanks for reading the blog. Sorry that I haven't been updating. Medical school has been busy.. I had exams, then a two week course in Taiwan, now I'm catching up with school...
Anyways... let's get up to date with the homeless:
The Panel Discussion:
The discussion that we organized in December went well. Many homeless also from Tent City came out to the panel, which was held at Tulane Medical School. There was a lot of dialog between the homeless and the panel speakers (who represented Unity for the Homeless, the City of New Orleans, Homeless Pride, Tulane School of Social Work, and the Harry Thompson Center). It was great to see these speakers also talk amongst each other, as this was the first time that some of these organizations had been in the same room. I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more solution-seeking. The discussion ended up becoming a list of complaints between the organizations, City Hall, and the homeless. Despite all of this, I (as well as my colleagues) were happy to see ANY civilized discussion come out of this meeting, at all.
The Eviction:
Despite the efforts of many activists in the city and our discussion panel involving City Hall, the homeless were evicted from Duncan Plaza on December 21. Alison (a medical student) and I managed to make our way out to Tent City right after our exam that day, in order to chat with the folks who were moving out. There was a whole mess of reporters, abandoned belongings, shredded tents, and homeless carting and backpacking their stuff away. I approached several people and asked them where they were going. Everyone replied that they were heading for the I-10 bridge on Claibourne Ave. and Canal St. In the preceding week however, many were lucky to receive housing through an effort by Unity for the Homeless to house as many people as they could before the eviction (I do not have a number, yet... but I'll find one).
The Present:
Today, I went out to the I-10 bridge. This has got to be the worst weather New Orleans has had in a long time. Not only is it cold and rainy, we also have gale-force winds in some areas of the city, and the bridge which normally is very windy, is one of those spots. The population has skyrocketed (again, no numbers, yet). So many people are under the bridge that others have had to stake out tents under the lanes that feed from Claiborne on the ground to I-10 above. They however, are the lucky ones because there is soil under those feeder lanes in which they can use stakes for their tents. The folks that are directly under the bridge are on top of concrete so their tents are essentially unattached to the ground and are at risk of blowing away even on normal days. I don't know who, but someone was nice enough to donate some port-a-potties and maintains them, too... just as long as the homeless keep them in reasonable condition. Of course there are some who abuse them but there are also others who go out of their way to keep things nice.
One such individual, who I will call Dan in order to protect his identity, lives under one of the feeder lanes next to a parking lot which faces a bar called Handsome Willy's, which is popular with medical students. He tries to keep the area clean by picking up garbage when he is provided with trash bags. Dan is aware that Handsome Willy's rents out the parking lot and is losing money due to people's distaste with parking so close to a homeless camp. He asked me for more garbage bags and cleaning products so that he and another lady could keep the latrines cleaned, as well.
Next to Dan's tent was a massive pile of burnt belongings. He explained that the two inhabitants got into a fight and somehow, their tent caught on fire during the altercation. Luckily, no one was hurt... and according to Dan, the couple is back together.
We walked together to the median under the bridge where Homeless Pride set up another sign (they had one displayed at Tent City). Unfortunately, the president and CEO were not present, and I could not chat with them. Everyone who WAS there was definitely in a bad mood or curled up in a tent due to the weather. There were some familiar faces from Tent City, as well as some new ones. I was chatting with one Duncan Plaza refugee and asked about Unity's housing program. His complaint was that individuals without ID's could not be eligible (many homeless do NOT have ID's), and that people from out of state were getting housing (at the loss of local New Orleanians who were still waiting for housing).
With all of these observations, there is no doubt that the City Government's action has NOT improved the situation for the homeless at all. It did however, clean up the mess in front of City Hall just in time for Mardi Gras. I just don't know what the tourists will think of New Orleans when they start rolling in from all over the nation and come right off of the interstate to see several hundred homeless living like animals. Good Job New Orleans.
MORE NEWS COMING SOON!!
Thanks for reading the blog. Sorry that I haven't been updating. Medical school has been busy.. I had exams, then a two week course in Taiwan, now I'm catching up with school...
Anyways... let's get up to date with the homeless:
The Panel Discussion:
The discussion that we organized in December went well. Many homeless also from Tent City came out to the panel, which was held at Tulane Medical School. There was a lot of dialog between the homeless and the panel speakers (who represented Unity for the Homeless, the City of New Orleans, Homeless Pride, Tulane School of Social Work, and the Harry Thompson Center). It was great to see these speakers also talk amongst each other, as this was the first time that some of these organizations had been in the same room. I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more solution-seeking. The discussion ended up becoming a list of complaints between the organizations, City Hall, and the homeless. Despite all of this, I (as well as my colleagues) were happy to see ANY civilized discussion come out of this meeting, at all.
The Eviction:
Despite the efforts of many activists in the city and our discussion panel involving City Hall, the homeless were evicted from Duncan Plaza on December 21. Alison (a medical student) and I managed to make our way out to Tent City right after our exam that day, in order to chat with the folks who were moving out. There was a whole mess of reporters, abandoned belongings, shredded tents, and homeless carting and backpacking their stuff away. I approached several people and asked them where they were going. Everyone replied that they were heading for the I-10 bridge on Claibourne Ave. and Canal St. In the preceding week however, many were lucky to receive housing through an effort by Unity for the Homeless to house as many people as they could before the eviction (I do not have a number, yet... but I'll find one).
The Present:
Today, I went out to the I-10 bridge. This has got to be the worst weather New Orleans has had in a long time. Not only is it cold and rainy, we also have gale-force winds in some areas of the city, and the bridge which normally is very windy, is one of those spots. The population has skyrocketed (again, no numbers, yet). So many people are under the bridge that others have had to stake out tents under the lanes that feed from Claiborne on the ground to I-10 above. They however, are the lucky ones because there is soil under those feeder lanes in which they can use stakes for their tents. The folks that are directly under the bridge are on top of concrete so their tents are essentially unattached to the ground and are at risk of blowing away even on normal days. I don't know who, but someone was nice enough to donate some port-a-potties and maintains them, too... just as long as the homeless keep them in reasonable condition. Of course there are some who abuse them but there are also others who go out of their way to keep things nice.
One such individual, who I will call Dan in order to protect his identity, lives under one of the feeder lanes next to a parking lot which faces a bar called Handsome Willy's, which is popular with medical students. He tries to keep the area clean by picking up garbage when he is provided with trash bags. Dan is aware that Handsome Willy's rents out the parking lot and is losing money due to people's distaste with parking so close to a homeless camp. He asked me for more garbage bags and cleaning products so that he and another lady could keep the latrines cleaned, as well.
Next to Dan's tent was a massive pile of burnt belongings. He explained that the two inhabitants got into a fight and somehow, their tent caught on fire during the altercation. Luckily, no one was hurt... and according to Dan, the couple is back together.
We walked together to the median under the bridge where Homeless Pride set up another sign (they had one displayed at Tent City). Unfortunately, the president and CEO were not present, and I could not chat with them. Everyone who WAS there was definitely in a bad mood or curled up in a tent due to the weather. There were some familiar faces from Tent City, as well as some new ones. I was chatting with one Duncan Plaza refugee and asked about Unity's housing program. His complaint was that individuals without ID's could not be eligible (many homeless do NOT have ID's), and that people from out of state were getting housing (at the loss of local New Orleanians who were still waiting for housing).
With all of these observations, there is no doubt that the City Government's action has NOT improved the situation for the homeless at all. It did however, clean up the mess in front of City Hall just in time for Mardi Gras. I just don't know what the tourists will think of New Orleans when they start rolling in from all over the nation and come right off of the interstate to see several hundred homeless living like animals. Good Job New Orleans.
MORE NEWS COMING SOON!!
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