Sharing Days, Rebuilding Lives

Background

The Harry Tompson Center plays a critical role in providing hygiene, healthcare, housing, and hospitality services to New Orleans’ homeless community. Founded in 1999 by Father Harry Tompson, S.J., the HTC began as an outreach of Immaculate Conception Jesuit Church with the mission to meet the basic daily needs of people experiencing homelessness by providing free access to restrooms, showers, and laundry, while offering a safe space to find respite from the harsh realities of living on the streets. Guests came to rely on these services, and over the course of the next several years, the Center averaged serving 200 individuals/day.

In 2005, flooding from Hurricane Katrina rendered the existing facility unusable, creating an urgent need for resources and help not only for existing guests, but for the nearly 12,000 individuals who were left homeless or displaced following the storm. Board President of the HTC, Mary Baudouin, and then Interim Director of Immaculate Conception, Fr. Ron Boudreaux, called a meeting between representatives from other prominent homelessness service providers (St. Joseph Church, Lantern Light, and UNITY of GNO) to discuss how best to create a “one-stop-shop” that would allow unhoused people to access restrooms, showers, food, basic personal care supplies, identification and documentation needs, resource referral, and more. The concept of St. Joseph Rebuild Center – a collaborative partnership between agencies designed to provide low-barrier, wraparound services to the homeless population – was born.

At the time of the Center’s construction, the City of New Orleans had acquired land use permits to erect a shelter that would offer permanent services to the unhoused population; thus, the Rebuild Center was designed as a quick response to alleviate the immediate need for services. To expedite construction, designers utilized modular trailers for showers, restrooms, and administrative offices. Wooden decking and benches surround a lush, open-air courtyard with seating for ~260 individuals. When the Rebuild Center opened in 2007, it quickly became a haven for the homeless. Over the last 18 years, the HTC and partners at the Rebuild Center have helped thousands of individuals improve their lives and remains one of the most essential service providers in the area today, logging over 35,000 visits during 2023.

Our Challenge

Our Center, constructed of modular trailers and wooden decking were never designed to be permanent, and heavy usage, weathering, and the wear-and-tear of nearly 18 years of foot traffic are threatening the structural integrity of our facilities. Showers and toilets are failing, creating unsafe and unsanitary conditions, which we are forced to mitigate at ever increasing costs. Our admin trailer is too small to accommodate our housing navigators, health care providers, and housing partner agency, DePaul USA New Orleans.

Simultaneously, demand for our services continues to rise. In fact, we’ve seen a steady rise in the number of individuals seeking our services year-over-year. While the City of New Orleans has planned initiatives to significantly reduce homelessness by 2025, the Rebuild Center and HTC, specifically, is an important cog in the wheel of connecting unhoused individuals with case managers who help them navigate the housing process. UNITY of Greater New Orleans endorses HTC as one of their Continuum of Care providers and has recognized HTC case worker efforts by awarding them Housing Navigator of the Year. HTC’s continued success is critical to the City’s plan to reduce homelessness.

Given the constrains on our services, the HTC Board of Directors undertook a capital campaign in Fall 2022.

Impact of New Facilities

Construction of a new permanent hygiene facility, including showers, toilets, sinks, and laundry began in June 2024. This hygiene facility will address many of the efficiency issues that we currently face with closures and failing infrastructure. We estimate that our hygiene services will increase by at least 15% with this renovation.

Upon completion of our new hygiene facilities, construction will begin on our new Counseling and Communication building (C&C). When this new building is completed, it will provide a substantial increase in services available to our guests. The C&C will comprise of 4 case management offices allowing for guests to meet with a helping professional such as an ACT team worker, a case manager, a community partner such as Bridge House Grace House, an advocate, notary, and others who offer their services. Further, the C&C building will have 5 small phone rooms, allowing guests to make important contacts with service providers, case workers, family, and others. Currently, the Center only has 2 phone lines for guests averaging ~2700 calls annually. The addition of 3 more phone lines will increase access by 150%.

The C&C building will comprise 3 medical exam rooms, which will enable medical professionals to be on-site daily rather than once/week. The dedicated medical space will allow for a 400% increase in the ability for an HTC guest to meet with a doctor, nurse, or psychiatrist.

Construction of the C&C will allow the ability for our collaborative partner DePaul USA to staff an additional housing professional who could take on 20 additional clients. DePaul USA provides intensive case management for approximately 50 clients. This includes not only locating apartment units and coordinating the logistics of rental payments, but offering supportive services designed to make their day to day lives successful while transitioning into housing. This involves navigating life challenges such as managing severe mental illness, helping with substance abuse, and serious physical health conditions.

Altogether, the renovation and rebuilding of the Harry Tompson Center is necessary to keep up with rising demand and will significantly increase HTC’s capacity and broaden impact in nearly all domains of service.

Want to learn more?

Check out our website dedicated to this campaign www.harrytompsoncenter.org/rebuildhtc