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2022 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 194
BY REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the Louisiana Housing Corporation to study issues related to the rising
number of homeless individuals in Louisiana, the lack of affordable housing in our
state, and to identify potential funding sources to address these issues and to report
its findings to the House of Representatives and the House Committee on
Appropriations of the Legislature of Louisiana prior to March 1, 2023.
WHEREAS, homelessness in our nation impacts all races, creeds, and genders; and
WHEREAS, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
reported a 7.9% increase in homelessness in Louisiana between 2019 and 2020; and
WHEREAS, according to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness,
as of January 2020, Louisiana had an estimated 3,173 persons experiencing homelessness
on any given day, with that total comprised in part of families, veterans, unaccompanied
young adults age 18-24, and individuals experiencing chronic homelessness; and
WHEREAS, agencies and non-profits across the state that offer services to the
homeless report increased needs since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the
numerous hurricanes and other natural disasters impacting our state; and
WHEREAS, homeless service providers in most regions of this state are unable to
regularly attend legislative hearings and provide vital information to lawmakers on the depth
and breadth of the homelessness problem our state is facing; and
WHEREAS, new homeless counts for Louisiana are expected to be released in the
next several months and will show the extent of Hurricane Ida's impact on homelessness in
our state; and
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WHEREAS, in addition to recent devastating natural disasters, other factors such as
the short supply of affordable housing, the increase in average rental prices, increasing rates
of inflation, and rising flood and insurance premiums, cut away at the financial security of
our population pushing some families and individuals further towards housing insecurity;
and
WHEREAS, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, there is a
shortage of affordable rental homes available to extremely low income households in the
state, with only 45 such homes available for every 100 renter households as of 2020; and
WHEREAS, homelessness has a direct impact on access to healthcare, poor health
outcomes, poor rates of participation in all levels of education, and negatively affects
wage-earning potential for individuals suffering homelessness; and
WHEREAS, the use of state and federal funding on programs and assistance targeted
to decrease homelessness by providing safe, affordable housing for families and individuals
experiencing homelessness seems to have a direct impact on improving access to healthcare
and health outcomes and reducing recurring state expenses for incarceration and foster care.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the Louisiana Housing Corporation
to study issues related to the rising number of homeless individuals in Louisiana and the lack
of affordable housing and to identify potential funding sources to address these issues, and
to report its findings to the House of Representatives and the House Committee on
Appropriations of the Legislature of Louisiana prior to March 1, 2023.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana Housing Corporation is requested
to conduct a public hearing for purposes of studying this issue to solicit comments from the
public and interested stakeholder organizations on the following topics:
(1) Annual point-in-time homelessness counts in the state of Louisiana by
Continuums of Care and other homeless service providers.
(2) Homeless service providers' capacity, shelter bed counts, and the availability of
affordable housing in communities across the state.
(3) Information concerning factors contributing to increases in family homelessness
across the state.
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(4) Information concerning the number of children enrolled in public schools
experiencing homelessness in this state.
(5) Information concerning the relationship between housing stability to decreased
government expenses on healthcare, incarceration, foster care, and other programs for
individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
(6) Potential state and federal funding sources for the construction or rehabilitation
of non-congregant shelters, deeply affordable housing, and other solutions to keep Louisiana
families from experiencing homelessness.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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