LOUISIANA Community Mental Health Services Block Grant ...

the reasons for homelessness. The shelter information is current through 2008. There are 153
shelters in the DCFS database. In 2008, the number of shelters reporting was 119 or 78% of the
153. The data revealed that the yearly total of homeless persons served was 32,112.
Experience suggests that persons with mental illness are underserved in the general shelter
population and, therefore, there may be significant numbers of unsheltered homeless who have a
mental illness. It is also likely that there are a number of persons sheltered who are undisclosed as
having a mental illness and, therefore, their mental illness is undetected and not included in the
count. In addition, prevalence of substance abuse among adults with serious mental illness is
between 50-70%. Taking those factors into consideration, some sources use the higher percentage
of 30% in calculating homelessness for persons with mental illness. This would yield an estimate
of the number of persons with mental illness, inclusive of those with co-occurring addictive
disorders, who are homeless is approximately 9,634 persons, or 30% of the total 32,112 homeless
served by the shelters who reported for the 2008 survey.
The Shelter Survey is broken down by sub-population in the Table below. This sub-population
breakdown relates to the primary reason a person is homeless, although it is recognized that
homelessness is multifactorial, and some individuals may fall into more than one category.
Sub-population Number Percentage
of Total
Severely mentally ill 3,927 12.23%
Chronic homeless 6,072 18.91%
Dual Diagnosed 4,942 15.39%
Substance Abuse 9,309 28.99%
Veterans 3,692 11.50%
Elderly 1,441 4.49%
Other/ Not Reported 2,729 8.50%
TOTAL 32,112
Projects to Assist in Transition from Homelessness (PATH)
The Projects to Assist in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) program of CMHS is targeted
specifically towards those homeless persons with severe mental illness and/or severe mental illness
with a co-occurring disorder. Louisiana‟s PATH program provides a significant amount outreach
activity as well as other support services. The annual reports from Louisiana PATH providers for
2009 showed that 4,385 homeless persons with mental illness were served.
One of the greatest needs in Louisiana is the creation of housing that is affordable to persons living
on an income level that is comparable to that of SSI recipients. That is, housing that is aimed at
those individuals at and below 20% of Median Income. Supportive services necessary to assist an
individual in remaining housed are also crucial. Efforts to increase available and appropriate
housing for persons with mental illness through training and recruitment of housing providers and
developers and development and access to support services continues to be a priority.
There are multiple providers of homeless programs in each area of the state. Each Region / LGE
has a Continuum of Care for the Homeless that serves as the coordinating body for the development
of housing and services to the homeless. The regional Continuums of Care incorporate a complete
array of assistance for homeless clients from outreach services to placement in permanent housing.
PART C LOUISIANA FY 2011 PAGE 254
SECTION III: CHILD/YOUTH PLAN – CRITERION 4
TARGETED SERVICES TO RURAL & HOMELESS POPULATIONS – OUTREACH TO HOMELESS