GEOGRAPHY PROJECT PLAN 2
Helping the Homeless Population in New Orleans
Mission Statement
My mission is to give the homeless population of New Orleans, Louisiana, a safe
place to stay and rehabilitate from substance abuse by working together with local faith-
based organizations.
General Overview and Rationale
Homelessness occurs daily on an international level, but it has been a long and
growing issue within the New Orleans population that has been hard to resolve. Despite the
recent feat of reducing the homeless population in New Orleans by providing free housing,
the city still faces a steadily increasing number of people living on the streets. As of 2018,
approximately 25.4% percent of the New Orleans population is currently living below the
poverty level (U.S. Census Bureau, 2018). While some people end up on the street due to
extreme financial circumstances, the harsh reality is that most people end up in this position
due to substance abuse. According to Devine and Wright (1997), “… the New Orleans Task
Force on Hunger and Homelessness estimated that 75% of the city’s homeless abuse alcohol,
and that more than 50% abuse other drugs, most frequently crack” (p. 619). Although the
predominant amount of the homeless population in New Orleans abuses drugs, there are
many local churches that have programs in place to help these people. Places like Bridge
House, Grace House, Covenant House, and New Orleans Mission are church-based
organizations that offer the public free shelter, food, clothing, medical care, addiction
recovery, and more. My goal is to team with local faith-based organizations to spread more
information about the life-saving programs within the area that aid homeless substance
abusers and help them turn their lives around, free of charge.
GEOGRAPHY PROJECT PLAN 3
Region Relevance
New Orleans is also referred to as the “Big Easy” or “Crescent City” by locals, and it is a
small but beautiful city with a big history. According to NewOrleans.com (2019), “In New
Orleans, history can strut as loudly as a Carnival walking krewe or creep as softly as a green
lizard on a courtyard wall” (para. 1). It is located within the Southeastern portion of the
United States and is considered a part of the Gulf Coast region. The Mississippi River winds
through the city and swamps filled with brackish water and cypress trees surround the edges
of it. Concerning the climate and geography of the city, Avdameg (2019) notes, “A humid,
semi-tropical climate in New Orleans is kept from extremes by surrounding waters. While
snowfall is negligible, rain occurs throughout the year. Waterspouts caused by small
tornadoes are frequently seen on nearby lakes” (para. 2). With an average annual rainfall
amount of 61.88 inches (Avdameg, 2019) and the city’s elevation being below sea level, it is
known to frequently flood in many areas. Due to the frequent floods, rain, and semi-tropical
climate, New Orleans is not a comfortable place for people to be sleeping on the streets.
Location Relevance
New Orleans is approximately 350 square miles in size, has a population of 393,292 people
(U.S. Census Bureau, 2018), and is dominated by concrete roads lined with homes and
businesses. The most recent demographics of the population are 59.8% Black or African
American, 30.6 % White, and the remaining 9.6% is Asian, Hawaiian, Hispanic, or biracial
(U.S. Census Bureau, 2018). Although there has recently been a large decrease in the
percentage of the population that is homeless, the cost of living in New Orleans is still high
compared to the median income. According to LaBorde (2016), “the median household
income in New Orleans is just $36,964—that's $23,818 short of what's needed to live well in
GEOGRAPHY PROJECT PLAN 4
the city” (para. 2). Regarding the absolute location of New Orleans, its map coordinates are
29.9511° N, 90.0715° W. As for its relative location, New Orleans is in Southeastern
Louisiana on the “South Shore”, across the lake from Slidell, Covington, and Mandeville.
According to Sharp et. al. (2008) “Lake Pontchartrain is located to the north of the city, Lake
Borgne to the east directly connected to the Gulf of Mexico, and the Mississippi River
running through the southern portion of New Orleans” (p. 668). Interstate 10 runs
throughout the city, and it is known as the home of the Saints football team, the Mercedes-
Benz Superdome, Mardi Gras parades, the French Market, and the Riverwalk.
Place Relevance
Considered the largest city in Louisiana, New Orleans’ religious demographic is
mainly Christian (Pew Research Center, 2019) and it is filled with many different churches,
some historic. Many of these churches have organizations that provide free aid to the
homeless, and they opened their doors to help the public during the aftermath of hurricane
Katrina. Since Katrina wreaked havoc on the city and destroyed most homes and businesses
in its paths, the number of renters has increased as a result of rebuilding the area. Another
issue in the housing market of New Orleans is the increasing frequency of turning apartments
and homes into vacation spots, creating more income for homeowners but leaving a housing
shortage for members of the community. As Jeong (2018) asserts, “The numbers of the New
Orleans Airbnb market — unhindered by any multiple listing ban — are far and away more
extreme… New Orleans is seeing an uptick in short-term rentals in historic black
neighborhoods” (para. 10). The housing market in combination with the high cost of living
and low wages in New Orleans create a volatile living situation where people are forced to
live on the streets.
GEOGRAPHY PROJECT PLAN 5
Movement Relevance
My mission will have to move people, goods, and information for its goal to be
achievable, but fortunately, the movement is a relatively easy feat thanks to the design of the
city. The average commute time in New Orleans is approximately 23 minutes (U.S. Census
Bureau, 2018), which is relatively short in comparison to commute times where I live. Since
the New Orleans almost never sleeps, public transportation systems via streetcars and buses
are readily available at every hour for my mission workers and the homeless to utilize. In
addition, there are sidewalks and designated bike lanes almost everywhere, so walking and
riding bicycles could be a great option for transportation as well. The roads may be filled
with potholes, but I don’t see this affecting the efforts of my mission since public
transportation systems would be used and the bicycles lanes are immaculate. Furthermore,
the city is filled with businesses that offer free Wi-Fi to the public, so internet access should
not be an issue. As for literacy levels, I have witnessed the lack of education that dominates
the homeless community of New Orleans despite the bounty of schools, colleges, and
universities in the area. To resolve this issue, mission workers should make sure they read
the brochure aloud and explain the steps to getting help when presenting the information to
the homeless. As for goods, these organizations are already efficient in what they do to have
goods delivered to their facilities, so the only goods my mission would need to deliver would
be the brochures. Those can easily be carried in bags when using public transportation,
biking, or walking.
Human-Environmental Interaction Relevance
As a part of the Gulf Coast, New Orleans is highly susceptible to the hurricanes and
tropical storms that pass through the Gulf of Mexico. In addition, ice melt that runs off into
GEOGRAPHY PROJECT PLAN 6
the Mississippi River flows down to the Gulf of Mexico and could easily flood New Orleans.
For these reasons, New Orleans has long had in place protective measures to ensure the safety of
the city. Regarding the protective measures, Sharp et. al. (2008) note, “Integral to New Orleans
is a system of levees intended to provide flood and hurricane protection to the city and
surrounding areas. Additionally, there are pumping stations located throughout the region…”
(p. 669). Despite levees and pumps being placed all around the city, these systems failed
during hurricane Katrina, and the impact was devastating. As Sharp et. al. (2008) assert,
“Much of the damage occurred because the storm surge overtopped the levees. In those
instances where the levee failed as a result of this overtopping the failure mechanism was
primarily due to erosion” (p. 669). This led to the flooding of entire neighborhoods, damage
to over half of the structures in the city, and many deaths. Many of the deaths were of those
in the homeless community who could not afford to evacuate or could not find free resources
to do so.
Summary
Overall, despite the plight of homelessness being substantially decreased in New Orleans
recently, there is still much more work to do to resolve this constant struggle in the city. The
heat, humidity, rain, and hurricanes are hard enough to deal with for those who have homes and
is that much harder on the homeless. In addition, Hurricane Katrina had a very large impact on
the community, and many of the homeless people that resided in New Orleans did not survive the
devastation. Since rebuilding the city, the housing market has become volatile with the
increasing popularity of Airbnb rentals, leaving many on the streets. Furthermore, many of the
victims of homelessness are also victims of the recurring struggle with substance abuse. All in
all, each of these factors is the driving force behind my mission statement and goals. By
GEOGRAPHY PROJECT PLAN 7
working with local organizations such as Bridge House, Grace House, Covenant House, and
New Orleans Mission, the city could see a dramatic decrease in the rampant substance abuse
issues within the homeless community. Through providing the information needed to rehabilitate
these people and help them get back on their feet, New Orleans could become a much better
place.
GEOGRAPHY PROJECT PLAN 8
References
Avdameg (2019). New orleans: Geography and climate. Retrieved from http://www.city-
data.com/us-cities/The-South/New-Orleans-Geography-and-Climate.html
Devine, J. A., & Wright, J. D. (1997). Losing the housing game: The leveling effects of
substance abuse. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 67(4), 618-631.
doi:10.1037/h0080259
Jeong, S. (2018, March 28). Activists say airbnb makes new orleans housing shortage worse. Vox
Media. Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/28/17172946/airbnb-new-
orleans-housing-crisis-gentrification-str
LaBorde, L. (2016, April 21). Here’s how much you need to live in new orleans comfortably. Vox
Media. Retrieved from https://nola.curbed.com/2016/4/21/11479578/new-orleans-salary-
live-comfortably
NewOrleans.com (2019). History of new orleans. Retrieved from
https://www.neworleans.com/things-to-do/history/history-of-new-orleans-by-period/
Pew Research Center (2019). Religious landscape study. Retrieved from
http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/louisiana/
Sharp, M., Vanadit-Ellis, W., Zimmie, T., Ubilla, J., Abdoun, T., Sasanakul, I., & Steedman, S.
(2008). New orleans levee system performance during hurricane katrina: London avenue
and orleans canal south. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering,
134(5), 668-680. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2008)134:5(668)
U.S. Census Bureau (2018). Quickfacts, new orleans city, louisiana. Retrieved from
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/neworleanscitylouisiana
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