Why is the City removing the humans and services from the department that prevents death? 

One of the first acts of the Helena Moreno administration was merging the New Orleans Health Department (NOHD)  with the Department of Human Services to form the New Orleans Health and Human Services Department (NOHHS). This merger recognizes the youth services, community safety programs and homeless services that are crucial to public health. 

NOHHS has also absorbed the Office Youth and Families (OYF) and its charge is to improve child well-being by increasing coordination between agencies, expanding resources, ensuring equitable policymaking, engaging youth and gathering community input.

However, this new scope did not come with funding to match its ambitions. 

After a 30% cut in the 2026 budget, NOHHS only made up only around 1.5% of the city’s general fund. In the 2027 budget proposal, even with its wider scope of programming,  funding dropped to a meager 0.6%.

The NOHHS is arguably the hardest working department in the city. They provide high-quality services, are responsive to community needs and work collaboratively across city departments. They continuously seek and secure grants to supplement their small share of city funds and have made notable achievements. 

NOHHS contributions to New Orleans has sparked change

Over the last five years, NOHHS have led the city’s reduction in street homelessness and increased anti-violence programs, contributing to the historic drop in violent crime. They have reduced burdens on police by implementing 24/7 mental health mobile crisis services, while continuing to reach public health milestones. This includes implementing universal home visits to improve maternal and child health outcomes. All are important benchmarks in the city’s Youth Master Plan. 

NOHHS inherited the Youth Master Plan, a council-supported, 10-year roadmap for child and youth wellbeing, developed by the Children Youth and Planning Board and the New Orleans Youth Alliance, young people and more than 50 community partners. 

The Youth Master Plan outlines 30 solutions and targeted goals — co-created with lived and learned experience — that center child and youth wellbeing from birth through 24 years old. But for this important work, to bring the Youth Master Plan to reality, NOHHS has only has one staff person to do the job of the now-absorbed Office of Youth and Families.

And now it’s facing even more cuts.

The department most strategically focused on the prevention of premature death of adults and children throughout New Orleans is facing a 64% cut – from $16.5M to $5.8M. This means less staff, program backlogs, and even, service eliminations.

Programs created to address specific ongoing problems are on the budget chopping block

New Orleans’ 24/7 Mobile Crisis Intervention Unit (MCIU) is an important branch of the city’s emergency response system. The MCIU was created to ensure a more effective, caring, and innovative response to behavioral health crises called into 911 and reduce police officer burden. The proposed $250,000 cut may end MCIU’s 24/7 coverage.

The New Orleans Low Barrier Shelter and Engagement Center (LBS) provides emergency shelter, transitional housing and case management to residents of the 296-bed facility. The LBS offers a safe place to sleep and basic amenities, combined with comprehensive support services, providing a dignified and effective response to homelessness. The proposed $5 million cut means the shelter would likely close, forcing 300 people onto the streets at a time when the state is increasingly criminalizing being unhoused. 

Family Connects New Orleans (FCNO) is a service of NOHHS that is rooted in evidence-based practices. It is tailored to meet the unique needs of New Orleanians by providing home visits with a highly trained nurse to families within three weeks after birth, regardless of income or background.  

The program is a key piece of our city’s plan to reduce maternal death, which disproportionately affects Black women in Louisiana. The proposed $428,000 cut, on top of a previous $250,000 reduction, will downsize nursing staff and universal availability. 

Cutting NOHHS’s budget by more than half would lead to the reduction and elimination of programs people can’t live without. More people, especially women and children, will needlessly die and rates of violence will increase.

Not only are these proposed cuts harmful and in many instances deadly, they’re also unpopular with voters. 

Research conducted in 2025 by Vera Institute demonstrated that New Orleanians want the city to fund and support more housing, education/youth, infrastructure and mental health services: 86% believe the city spent too little in direct support of its residents. 

The people want services and programs. The City cannot ask the health department to do the work of three offices and then cut the legs from underneath them. The city council must spare the NOHHS of these cuts.

Big Easy Budget Coalition, a collective of over 40 organizations, are advocating for a $140 million Big Easy Deal — its own vision for public investments that address the root causes of violence, including systemic disinvestment, poverty, lack of economic opportunity, and isolation.