Out of sight, out of mind

A lot of things happened in quick succession in between the time I returned to New Orleans to start school and then had to evacuate for Gustav. On campus I needed to unpack, settle in, get books, and prepare for class. Outside campus, in the real world, there were shows to catch like MOS DEF the Thursday before evacuating and streets to cruise to see who and what still up. The giant FORTY piece on the rooftop billboard along I-10 was a welcome addition. That along with the appearance of Banksy's stencils a few days later had my mind really racing to get back in touch with the city.

But one thing that I noticed that no longer existed was the homeless camp under Carrolton. I wonder what's happened to the people that were there even though now their plight weighs less heavily on mind when I go downtown. Out of sight, out of mind.

There location beneath the interstate bridge at the edge of downtown seemed to be born out of not just necessitiy, but also protest. Originally the first homeless encampment was out front city hall in objection to the destruction of the city's housing projects after Katrina. After the city cleared that spot, the camp settled in that horrible space along Carrolton.

I went "down" there, over there rather, a couple times in the summer and it was miserable. The summer heat is unrelenting when you live in a tent and surrounded by concrete. The traffic above and below caused constant commotion and grit from the asphalt would swirl up in your eyes like a dust storm whenever the wind did pick up.

A large majority of the people down there were either handicapped or chemically dependent (and some were both). However the most striking thing was that some were employed and worked long hours during the day only to come back "home" to a tent.

Now no one is there and I wonder what kind of housing they have found. Did the city really find a better place for them to stay or did they just make them disperse to get rid of the "eyesore?" I don't know, just yet.