Lafayette loses more shelter space as housing needs mount
Closing the shelter was in the works before the pandemic. But the loss nevertheless comes at a bad time.
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Christiaan Mader
Christiaan Mader founded The Current in 2018, reviving the brand from a short-lived culture magazine he created for Lafayette publisher INDMedia. An award-winning investigative and culture journalist, Christiaan’s work as a writer and reporter has appeared in The New York Times, Vice, Offbeat, Gambit, and The Advocate.
‘This is different’ — A dispatch from Lafayette’s Rally Against Police Brutality
Sunday’s rally wasn’t the first time Lafayette resident protested police violence. The difference, organizers say, was its diversity and clarity of purpose.
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Yes, community spread of coronavirus is still active in Lafayette
While outbreaks at crawfish production facilities and nursing homes are the primary drivers of new cases in the Acadiana region, spontaneous community spread remains a risk.
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Housing and unemployment ‘a serious crisis, regardless’ as Lafayette commits all HUD coronavirus relief to small business grants
The decision previews potentially tragic choices to come as local and state governments dig their way out of a worsening economic fallout from the coronavirus: Governments have more problems than they can fix.
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Louisiana cities are doing what they can to both save small businesses and keep people in their homes
Strapped for cash, some Louisiana cities are working to balance the needs of businesses and housing in how they use federal coronavirus relief.
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Guillory proposes using HUD coronavirus relief for small business grant programs, not housing assistance
Housing advocates say the money is better used to help stabilize growing housing insecurity in the region. The proposal will go before the council next week for approval.
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Housing instability in Acadiana surges, just as local coronavirus curve begins to flatten
Calls for sheltering help have climbed over the last month, according to data from 211, and moratoria on evictions and utility disconnections will soon end.
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Take a (laundry) load off a Lafayette healthcare worker
Lafayette General Foundation is raising money to pay for laundry for hospital employees, giving a boost to a local startup
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Lafayette ‘won’t openly defy’ the governor as other parishes break with stay-home order
At least three parishes will buck the governor altogether, challenging Gov. John Bel Edwards’ reach and resolve. Working to find flexibility where he can, Lafayette’s Republican mayor-president isn’t going that far.
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The governor plans to begin phase one of a gradual reopening of the state’s economy on May 16, which will allow restaurants to offer dine-in services at a 25% occupancy rate. Restaurant owners had mixed feelings on Monday’s news.
Reader Survey: How safe do you feel? Not that safe
We asked our readers how safe they felt, and 270 weighed in. Most aren’t ready yet to go back out into the world.
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Majority African-American areas in Lafayette Parish account for just 14% of the parish population, but they house 27% of the parish’s COVID-19 cases.
Source: City’s African-American areas are concentrated with coronavirus cases