The people’s voice: How should New Orleans use their ARP money?
This month, a coalition of community organizations led by VERA Institute of Justice, LA Fair Housing Action Center, and New Orleans Workers Center for Racial Justice brought their priorities to City Council with a straightforward message: Invest in our communities. Here’s what they want to see funded:
Housing: $107M
New Orleans is one of the only cities in the South that hasn’t used any ARP money for housing.
Build affordable housing: construction or rehab of up to 2,000 permanently-affordable rental housing units in high-opportunity and gentrifying neighborhoods
Community Taskforce Plan to Reduce Street Homelessness
Renter-Occupied and Owner-Occupied home rehabs: forgivable loans of $35k-$50k to small landlords that will help them repair health and safety violations
Anti-Displacement Fund for Renters displaced by health or safety violations
Youth Development: $20M
Youth Program Capacity and Network Building: work with existing orgs like Children Youth and Planning Board, Operation Restoration, Youth Empowerment Project, ALAS, Daughters Beyond Incarceration, Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children, Center for Restorative Justice, Roots of Music, New Orleans Youth Alliance, and Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights
Community Violence Prevention: $2M
Expand Community Violence Intervention Services: increase the budget of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention (currently not operating)
Community Equity: $18M
Subsidizing Public Transportation with a zero fare program
Increase the financial, service, and operations capacity of the Office of Resilience and Sustainability to bring in more IIJA money.
Language Access Pilot: Appropriate funds to the Council of the City of New Orleans to provide interpreters for public meetings
Food Security: aid to food banks and local food producers
Labor Audit: audit of contractor and subcontractor payrolls and past labor complaints to ensure legal and equitable treatment of all workers on city contracts
Direct cash assistance to most-impacted workers
