New Orleans Congressman Troy Carter to sleep outside tonight to shed light on the plight of homelessness

(Max Becherer/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP, File)

New Orleans Congressman Troy Carter will be sleeping outside tonight to draw attention to youth homelessness in the city, the state and the country. Congressman Carter will be participating in the Covenant House Sleep Out tonight.

“We’ll be meeting the officials and other leaders at the Covenant House in New Orleans to sleep outside to provide attention and resources for this critical issue of homelessness,” Carter said.

Carter says the problem of homelessness is growing.

“One of the areas where we have increasing and alarming lies with women and children being homeless on the streets of Louisiana and America,” Carter explained.

Carter says the fact that it’s expected to be a frigid night in New Orleans – at least, by New Orleans standards – will further shed light on the issue.

“Which will give further demonstration of the challenges that many of our citizens have with being unhoused,” Carter said.

Carter says by sleeping outside, he and other officials who will be joining him can feel the pain that homeless people, especially children, go through on a nightly basis and work to bring resources to help get them off the streets.