01:27 PM CST on Monday, December 26, 2005

Associated Press

BATON ROUGE -- The number of homeless people in Louisiana's capital has quintupled over the past 17 months. Much of that increase was due to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

"We were not able to handle the homeless we had before the storm, let alone 5,000 more people," said Katherine Martin, executive director of the O'Brien House shelter.

In July 2004, Baton Rouge had an estimated 1,000 chronically homeless people. Estimates in East Baton Rouge parish now range from 5,000 to 8,000, according to the Capital Area Alliance for the Homeless.

Particularly troublesome, say social service agency officials, is an obvious increase in the chronic homeless who have mental or substance-abuse problems.

They expect totals to grow even more as the Federal Emergency Management Agency stops paying for hotel rooms for evacuees.

The Mayor-President's Office recently asked social service organizations what they need to keep ahead of the growing number of homeless in East Baton Rouge Parish. The short answer is: A lot.

Suggestions at last week's meeting included renovating buildings to provide affordable housing and increasing the number of beds at existing temporary shelters.

"We came up with 500 beds, but at a cost of over a million dollars," Martin said.

Longer-term, the area needs more affordable housing, said Randy Nichols, executive director for the Capital Area Alliance for the Homeless.

Another idea is a safe-haven shelter for homeless people who are unsuited for traditional shelters because of mental health problems or other issues.

Hampton Grunewald, executive assistant to Mayor-President Kip Holden, said his office is working on a winter plan to provide extra beds for emergency shelters while pursuing money for additional beds in the long term.

Grunewald said the mayor also is interested in creating a one-stop service center, which would streamline the process of getting help to the homeless.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)