Calling home: Sheltering in hotels to escape coronavirus, Acadiana's homeless got back on their feet


In southwestern Louisiana, the Acadiana Regional Coalition on Homelessness and Housing wrangled 19 hotels into a makeshift network during the pandemic to house people experiencing homelessness. With help from Beacon Community Connections' counselors, the 456 people who entered the program found the stability and services they needed to connect with government benefits and, in some cases, find jobs. The program's Housing First approach, to admit the chronically unhoused without preconditions like sobriety, creates disciplinary challenges but put many on a path to a better life.

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