NEW ORLEANS – A new report says homelessness is still a problem in New Orleans but it's not as bad as it was after Hurricane Katrina hit 10 years ago.
A collaboration of homeless agencies said in a report Thursday that a recent count of homeless found about 1,703 chronically homeless people in New Orleans and the neighboring metropolitan area of Jefferson Parish.
UNITY of Greater New Orleans said that's an 85 percent decline in homelessness since 2007, when homelessness was at its peak after Katrina.
In 2007, a park in front of City Hall sprouted with tents erected by the homeless. At the time, the homeless encampment became an embarrassment to then-Mayor Ray Nagin.
Advocates say extensive work with the homeless and government aid were the reasons for the drop in homeless.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
