About the Belle Reve Center
New Orleans ranks second in the top 10 worst areas for renters, according to the Make Room Initiative. In 2004, the share of severely cost-burdened renters in New Orleans and the U.S. – people who spend 50% or more on housing – was 24%. 15 years later, that share spiked to 34% percent in New Orleans, while remaining at 24% nationally.
The Bureau of Governmental Research’s report “On the Ballot: New Orleans Elderly Services Tax Proposal, March 30, 2019” describes the population of New Orleans’ older adults as being “more than 74,000 citizens age 60 and older, 19% of the city’s population …. New Orleans’ elderly are worse off than their peers nationally by a number of measures …. They have a greater income instability, are more likely to be disabled, and are more likely to live alone.”
Also, there are an estimated 2.7 million LGBT adults aged 50 and older in the United States, with 1.1 million aged 65 and older. LGBT seniors are more likely to be single, without children, and twice as likely to be living alone as compared to their heterosexual peers. They may have been disowned by their family and lack any family ties. One-third of LGBT older adults live at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, with 40% aged 80 and older. Nationally, 48% of older same sex couples have experienced housing discrimination.
Completed in December 2023 - coinciding with its 30th anniversary - the new Belle Reve Center serves as the foundation for a healthy, welcoming and engaged community of seniors age 62+ with amenity spaces set aside for health and wellness, recreation, education, support and socialization. Residents enjoy a variety of outdoor spaces for recreation and contemplation, areas which may also to be programmed as available for use by the community. The Belle Reve Center will connect residents to resources, services and programs in the community that address their current and future needs through case management services for the senior residents, including informational referrals, help with benefit and entitlement assistance and access to psychosocial support groups: NA/AA meetings, bereavement therapy being examples, while engaging community partners to provide a variety of additional programs and services on site - financial and computer literacy, library book club, health and wellness activities.
