Gov. Jeff Landry has vetoed $1 million earmarked for Lafayette area homeless shelters run by Catholic Charities of Acadiana.
Landry, who is Catholic and lives in Lafayette Parish, did not explain why he removed the funding.
Overall, the governor used his line-item veto to remove $4.5 million from nonprofits out of the $48 billion budget Louisiana lawmakers approved earlier this month. In one of his veto letters, Landry implied nongovernmental organizations should be more closely vetted before they receive state funds.
Catholic Charities said in a written statement that they were "deeply saddened" at the decision and wrote that shelter services would become difficult to sustain.
"The vetoed shelter appropriations are a significant setback to our pro-life efforts to care for our vulnerable neighbors experiencing homelessness," said Kim Boudreaux, CEO of Catholic Charities of Acadiana. "Our shelter serves as a critical lifeline for 87 individuals each night who have nowhere else to turn. We face an uncertain future for those who seek shelter with us as a last resort."
The cut to emergency shelters impacts more than just the Lafayette area because Catholic Charities operates in eight surrounding parishes.
Over the past three years, homelessness in Louisiana has more than doubled.
Homelessness and its increasing visibility have turned into an uphill battle, with lack of space being one of the largest issues for the nonprofit. The shelters are filled, leaving roughly 160 people out on the street on any given day, according to previous reporting.
The shelter housed 410 people last year, with 81% of those individuals coming from Acadiana's eight parishes, Catholic Charities wrote in its statement.
In October, Lafayette became one of five cities selected to participate in national nonprofit Urban Land Institute’s “Homeless to Housed” initiative nationwide, together with San Antonio, Philadelphia, San Francisco and San Diego.
In a series of meetings, funded with a $10,000 grant from ULI, organizers are working to convene a diverse group of residents, political leaders and other stakeholders to analyze the housing landscape and develop solutions that will increase access to housing for those who are struggling to attain it.
The main issue holding the charity back is funding, Ben Brossard told The Advocate in 2023. On top of Landry's line-item cuts from the state budget, Lafayette itself has yet to prioritize funding to combat homelessness.
Before COVID, local occupancy rates were at about 80% and Catholic Charities could work with landlords to negotiate affordable rates for their clients. Now, people who moved to Lafayette from other areas after being displaced due to a hurricane have remained, which has shrunk options for available housing, he said.
Along with cuts to Catholic Charities, Landry cut $250,000 meant for housing for the formerly incarcerated in New Orleans.
Additionally, another $500,000 was cut from Teach for America and $1 million from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.