New Ozanam site will increase homeless beds to 150

Clarence Adams, chief executive officer of Ozanam Inn, a nonprofit that has provided free homeless services  since it opened in 1955, made a bold prediction Jan 5.

“New Orleans will become the first major city in the country to end homelessness,” he said at an event  celebrating the official purchase of the inn’s future home at 2239 Poydras St. and the launch of a capital campaign to renovate the building.

Auxiliary Bishop Fernand Cheri opened the event with a prayer asking God to  bless those who are in distress and need. “May all who come here be welcomed and served,” Bishop Cheri prayed.

With the help of Vincentian Father Louis Arceneaux, Ozanam Inn’s spiritual director, Bishop Cheri also blessed the building’s keys, which Adams held up, with holy water.

“I’m so happy,” Adams, said. “This larger facility  opens many new opportunities for the poor and needy in our community. Our organization will be able to expand the number of people we serve, providing more people with the security of knowing they have something to eat and a place to sleep.”

Long time coming

The purchase of the building has been in the works for more than a year, beginning after the inn sold its long-time home at 843 Camp St. in late 2019, Adams said.

The 32,000-square-foot, two-story building almost doubles the space to house needed medical and dental services currently provided in cramped quarters. It also increases bed capacity for men from 96 to 100 and adds another 50 beds to accommodate women for the first time in Ozanam Inn’s 65-year-history.

“It’s such a nice building,” Adams said. “When people come in here, it will be more welcoming to them. We’ve been blessed to have the Camp Street building, but we have spent a small fortune in maintenance there that we won’t have to be paying here. The location also is very good. We are near hospitals and the Rebuild Center. I think the new building will have people realize it is not just a new start for Ozanam Inn. A lot of people can look at it as a new start for them also.”

No more hallway exams

He said the expansion of free clinic services will include a large office partitioned to accommodate two dental chairs for students of LSU Dental School to see clients, and four separate rooms for students of LSU School of Medicine and Tulane Medical Center to examine hundreds more patients annually.

“We won’t have Tulane and LSU (students) seeing patients in the hallways anymore,” Adams said.

Renée Borie Blanche, development and deputy director of Ozanam Inn, said the nonprofit was invited to apply to the city of New Orleans for a Community Development Block Grant in early spring for the total purchase cost of the building, which is $3 million.

In June, in the middle of the pandemic, Ozanam Inn was approved for the grant, she said. The virus and other bureaucratic delays such as studies on how the nonprofit would affect the surrounding neighborhood hampered the grant distribution and building purchase until Dec. 23.

During the wait, Blanche said Ozanam Inn and its architect, RCL Architecture, LLC, of Covington, were granted access to the building by its owner to begin preliminary plans for outfitting the interior as needed until the purchase.

COVID-19 reduced services

Since the pandemic hit in March, Ozanam Inn continued many of its homeless services, such as transitional and emergency housing, free showers, case management, life skills, mail service, use of the restrooms, job readiness and interview skills, financial management and more. However, it was forced to reduce its bed count from 96 to 67 and eliminate daily meals. Vouchers also resumed for the homeless men and women who needed them.

“We’ve had to shut down some of our beds to make sure we are socially distant,” he said. “We have stopped serving meals to outside clients because I was afraid to have all the people in the dining room. We have partnered with other agencies for the feeding, such as the Rebuild Center to make sure there were meals to serve our clients. FEMA started a two-meal-a-day distribution of prepackaged meals from St. Jude Community Center.”

While the building is now paid for, Ozanam Inn needs another $1.8 million to outfit it properly to accommodate all of its services. Adams said not much is salvageable from the old location. A new kitchen has to be equipped and installed as well as a laundry room and showers on the second floor for the ladies and an outdoor seating area in the rear of the site.

Approximately $800,000 already has been raised, almost 44%, Adams said to applause.

“There’s a lot of little things that you don’t see (about having to retrofit the new building),” he said.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell congratulated Adams on Ozanam Inn’s success and said the nonprofit has been intentional about meeting people where they are at every level.

“You can see it and feel it (when you visit),” she said.

The pandemic forced the city’s partnerships with Ozanam and others to be more intentional in seeing added results on the ground to better address street homelessness. The $3 million grant was one way of achieving that.

“This is about meeting them where they are with the additional capacity that Ozanam will be able to provide by including women in our community,” she said.

The mayor accepted Adams’ challenge to eradicate homelessness and pledged to find more resources to supplement the inn’s $1.8 million renovation budget.

District B City Councilman Jay Banks presented Adams with a proclamation from all city council members that lauded Ozanam Inn for its free services for the homeless, the most vulnerable and underserved in the city.

Turning lives around

One of the more poignant moments of the ceremony was when Jessie Pullins, a former client of Ozanam Inn, spoke about now owning a home, retiring from a job at the Marriott after 24 years and being a board member of Ozanam Inn and Unity of Greater New Orleans.

He said Ozanam Inn gave him much more than a warm meal, a bed to sleep in and a shower.

“I found something much greater,” Pullins said. “I found hope. The second thing was unconditional love that looked past my faults and accepted me as I was. The third thing ... was a second chance at life” that helped him rebuild his self-esteem and become a shining beacon for others.

“That same unconditional love that was given to me, I can give back today,” Pullins said.

Adams said he hopes to officially sign an agreement with a contractor this week, with plans to start construction in late January.

“We’re figuring to be in the building by September, hopefully sooner,” Adams said.

When Ozanam Inn moves, Adams pledged a seamless transition with no interruption of services for guests.

In the meantime, Ozanam Inn – a ministry of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul named after its founder Blessed Frederic Ozanam – will continue to house men at its Camp Street location. For details, call (504) 523-1184.

[email protected]