Gambit Digital Edition: June 2, 2020 by Gambit New Orleans

June 2-8, 2020 Volume 41 // Number 20

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CONTENTS

JUNE 2- 8 VOLUME 41 | NUMBER 20 NEWS

OPENING GAMBIT

COMMENTARY 9

ROSES $10 / DOZEN CASH & CARRY

CLANCY DUBOS

BLAKE PONTCHARTRAIN 11

FEATURES

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 5

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STAFF

Publisher | JEANNE EXNICIOS FOSTER

EDITORIAL (504) 483-3105// response@gambitweekly.com Editor | KANDACE POWER GRAVES Political Editor | CLANCY DUBOS Arts & Entertainment Editor | WILL COVIELLO

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The pandemic’s effects on mental health

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Listings Coordinator | VICTOR ANDREWS

JILL GIEGER

Contributing Writers | KEVIN ALLMAN

PRODUCTION Creative Services Director | DORA SISON Pre-Press Coordinator | JASON WHITTAKER Web & Classifieds Designer | MARIA BOUÉ

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Graphic Designers | CATHERINE FLOTTE,

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BUSINESS & OPERATIONS

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Gambit (ISSN 1089-3520) is published weekly by Capital City Press, LLC, 840 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70130. (504) 4865900. We cannot be held responsible for the return of unsolicited manuscripts even if accompanied by a SASE. All material published in Gambit is copyrighted: Copyright 2020 Capital City Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

Intermission Cabaret P H OTO P R OV I D E D BY AU D U BO N N AT U R E I N S T I T U T E

Ricky Graham directs and co-hosts a telethon-style show with many local performers at Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts beginning at

A male lion cub born at the Audubon Zoo in January will be introduced to visitors when the facility reopens June 3.

P H OTO B Y J O H N B . B A R R O I S

Ricky Graham

Mild life refuge The zoo, sculpture garden and other attractions open BY WILL COVIELLO THE AUDUBON ZOO CLOSED ITS GATES to visitors because of the

COVID-19 pandemic, and the social distancing has been tough on the animals, too. “I think some of them miss the interaction,” says Liz Wilson, who curates the zoo’s Jaguar Jungle and Louisiana Swamp exhibits. “As soon as the alpacas see any human activity (now), they run up to the gate, looking for attention. It’s the same with the lions; they look like they’re searching.” The creatures will get to experience the city’s new normal as the zoo reopens Wednesday, June 3. Entrance will be via online reservations and there will be adjustments for physical distancing. The zoo is among several New Orleans attractions, parks and sports facilities that opened last week or open this week, most with limited capacity and policies for physical distancing. At the zoo, the alpacas were recently shorn and have new haircuts for summer, and several animals will get their first introduction to visitors. A pair of male lion cubs born Jan. 11 have been highlighted on the Audubon Nature Institute’s website (www.auduboninstitute.org), but

now Haji and Asani will be on view in the lion habitat. The zoo also is introducing visitors to a recently born sebu calf, a member of the smallest breed of cow, native to India and Sri Lanka. The zoo has created one-way paths for viewing, but not all areas will be open. The nocturnal exhibit was renovated, but it and the reptile building and aviary won’t reopen yet. There won’t be keeper chats or feeding segments to avoid drawing crowds. Staff will wear masks and are doing extra sanitizing. Some animals, such as great apes, are normally susceptible to illness, so some of the staff’s enhanced handling safety precautions to keep animals healthy were already in place in parts of the zoo. Behind the zoo, the Riverview park, aka “The Fly,” has been open to pedestrian and bike traffic. In New Orleans City Park, the New Orleans Museum of Art (www.noma. org) remains closed, but it reopens the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden this week. The number of visitors will be limited to 25% capacity, and visitors are asked to wear face masks. It’s open to seniors and immunocompromised

visitors from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. The general public is welcome from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the block from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. is reserved for museum members. Admission is free for members, guests under 20, health care workers and first responders; $5 general admission and $3 for seniors, students and active military. The garden is open June 1-7 and then Wednesdays through Sundays after this week. New Orleans City Park (www.neworleanscitypark.com) has opened many of its attractions. Locals have been using its open spaces since the pandemic began, but public restrooms (outside reopened attractions) remain closed. Currently accessible are the NOLA City Bark dog park, City Putt Mini Golf, the Bayou Oaks golf course and boat and bicycle rentals at the Big Lake near Esplanade Avenue park entrance. Tennis courts are available, and sports fields can be used for noncontact sports. Storyland is open, but amusement rides and the City Park train are not. Other park playgrounds will be reopened over time. The Louisiana Children’s Museum remains closed, but its Acorn cafe is open. Other food available in the park includes the snowball stand at the Goldring/ Woldenberg Great Lawn and takeout service from Cafe Du Monde. The New Orleans Botanical Garden is open Wednesday through Sunday, and its Kitchen in the Garden serves food for takeout or physically distanced dining in the garden on Wednesday evenings and Sunday brunch.

5 p.m. Tuesday, June 2. The event will be broadcast on the theater’s social media channels and some seating is available at the theater. Visit www.rivertowntheaters.com for information.

Petit Pranks LE PETIT THEATRE CONTINUES ITS RADIO PLAY SERIES WITH A COLLECTION OF COMEDY BITS, including the Abbott and Costello classic “Who’s on First.” There also are selections from George Burns and Gracie Allen’s TV show and a game show spoof called “It Pays to be Ignorant.” The half-hour presentation airs at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 5, on the Le Petit Theatre website (www.lepetittheatre.com) and its Facebook page.

D-Day remembered THE NATIONAL WORLD WAR II MUSEUM HAS REOPENED AND THIS WEEK IT MARKS TWO ANNIVERSARIES. Saturday is the 76th anniversary of D-Day, or June 6, 1944, when Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy and began to liberate France from Nazi control. The museum also celebrates its 20th birthday. There are lectures, a commemoration and a discussion with veterans June 1-6. Many sessions are available on Zoom. Visit www.nationalww2museum.org for details.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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OPENING GAMBIT N E W

O R L E A N S

N E W S

V I E W S

Walking in the French Quarter … alcohol delivery … split jury convictions … and more

# The Count

Thumbs Up/ Thumbs Down

60%

The chance that the Atlantic Basin (which includes the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico) will experience an above-normal hurricane season, according to forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Baptist Community Ministries (BCM) has an-

nounced $400,000 in grants to United Way of Southeast Louisiana and Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana to support food distribution to the needy and financial help to individuals amid the coronavirus pandemic. It’s the second round of grants awarded by BCM, which previously provided $500,000 to local partners.

P H OTO B Y DAV I D G R U N F E L D/ T H E T I M E S - P I C AY U N E | T H E N E W O R L E A N S A DVO C AT E

There is a move afoot to curtail vehicle traffic in the French Quarter.

MAYOR TO EXPLORE CHANGING FRENCH QUARTER TO PEDESTRIAN-ONLY ZONE MAYOR LATOYA CANTRELL WANTS TO TURN THE FRENCH QUARTER

The Emeril Lagasse Foundation is awarding a

half-million dollars in grants to local nonprofits to help with their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The foundation said the grants are part of a multitiered response to provide shortterm and long-term support for community programs, including feeding youth and families of hospitality industry workers in Louisiana, Nevada and Florida. A second round of funding will be distributed in the fall, the foundation said.

Steven Bochinski, a painter and photographer, dripped paint over several beloved murals along Frenchmen Street the weekend of New Orleans’ Phase 1 reopening, sparking criticism on social media from fans of the artworks. Bochinski apologized to the artists and said he intended the rivulets of paint to represent tears for victims of the coronavirus pandemic.

and other areas in the city into pedestrian-only zones, the mayor said last week. Speaking in an online town hall May 27 with The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate, Cantrell said she has asked a task force to study the idea of excluding vehicular traffic from some areas, including the Vieux Carre. She said the coronavirus pandemic has created opportunities to reimagine public spaces to promote social distancing and safe recreation. “I call it, ‘No cars in the Quarter,’ ” she said of her idea. “This is the city’s time to reimagine just how we live, how we move about, how we enjoy, and how we get to know and learn the fabric of our city.” — JESSICA WILLIAMS/THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE

It should get easier to have alcohol delivered soon Louisiana lawmakers have passed legislation making it easier for companies to deliver alcohol, granting third-party delivery services like UberEats, Waitr and Shipt the ability to deliver beer and wine through contract workers. The state House passed the bill, SB 178 by Sen. R.L. “Bret” Allain, R-Franklin, on a 83-13 vote May 28. When lawmakers legalized alcohol delivery last year, they only allowed businesses such as grocery stores, restaurants and liquor stores to deliver beverages — provided they did so with their own employees. That excluded major third-party delivery services, like UberEats and Shipt, from participating. Allain’s bill makes several changes to the alcohol delivery laws, but perhaps most important it allows independent contractors to deliver. That change is expected to bring major delivery services into the fold and expand the delivery of alcohol to homes across the state. The state Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control already loosened its rules for alcohol delivery amid the coronavirus pandemic — as many states have done — and allowed restaurants offering takeout and curbside sales during the stay-at-home order to include alcohol in those deliveries. As of March 1, about 50 companies, mostly grocers and liquor stores, got the necessary paperwork to deliver alcohol in Louisiana. But

NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center expects 13 to 19 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher), of which they say six to 10 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including three to six major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5; with winds of 111 mph or higher). An average hurricane season typically yields 12 named storms, of which six become hurricanes, including three major hurricanes. Hurricane season runs June 1 through Nov. 30. CORRECTION: IN “THE COUNT” MAY 26, WE ERRONEOUSLY STATED THAT 6 MILLION PEOPLE IN LOUISIANA ARE FOOD INSECURE. THAT NUMBER IS 1.6 MILLION. GAMBIT REGRETS THE ERROR.

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OPENING GAMBIT

Split jury convictions tossed due to Supreme Court decision Manslaughter and molestation convictions from New Orleans went up in smoke last week as state appellate judges applied a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision invalidating split jury verdicts. In decisions on separate cases from Orleans Parish Criminal District Court that yielded long prison sentences, the Louisiana 4th Circuit Court of Appeal tossed convictions because of the April ruling from the nation’s high court. Gabriel Hunter, who was convicted on a 10-2 jury vote and received a 50-year sentence in 2017 after he was convicted of molesting a preteen girl, could receive a new trial. So could Richard Donovan, whose defense attorney once warned that his 40-year sentence for manslaughter meant he would die in prison because he has advanced Parkinson’s disease. Donovan also was convicted

on a 10-2 jury vote of shooting Bernell Collins Sr., 36, on Sept. 30, 2016. The April decision from the U.S. Supreme Court left the 4th Circuit judges with no choice but to throw out the convictions, they noted. “The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled definitively that non-unanimous jury verdicts are unconstitutional,” Judge Sandra Cabrina Jenkins wrote in Donovan’s case. The Louisiana Supreme Court long relied on a prior U.S. Supreme Court decision from 1972, which upheld the right of states to allow jury convictions based on less than unanimous jury votes. Louisiana and Oregon were the only two states allowing split jury verdicts — until Pelican State voters passed a constitutional amendment requiring unanimity in 2018. That amendment applied only to crimes committed on or after Jan. 1, 2019. The 4th Circuit’s decisions on Wednesday appear to be some of the first applying the U.S. Supreme Court decision. On April 29, the circuit court also vacated the second-degree murder conviction of Tyrone C. Myles. Orleans Parish jurors voted 10-2 to convict Myles in the 7th Ward killing of 23-year-old Antoine Brumfield on Nov. 26, 2017. At least two other Louisiana cases have been tossed under the U.S.

Supreme Court decision, according to Chris Aberle, an attorney with the Louisiana Appellate Project. — MATT SLEDGE/THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE

Sheriff Marlin Gusman says he wants his jail back Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman last week asked a federal judge for permission to resume control of the city’s lock-up — and exit a seven-yearold reform pact. In a combative, 44-page court brief, Gusman assailed the monitors deployed by U.S. District Judge Lance Africk, claiming that they’ve held him to an unreasonably high standard. “Continued enforcement of the Consent Decree seeks a jail utopia, reflective of the court-appointed monitors’ personal preferences and idealistic aspirations, not the ‘narrowly drawn … least intrusive means necessary to correct the violation’ requirement that controls prospective relief for jail conditions,” Gusman said, quoting a federal law that limits lawsuits against jails and prisons. The standard that should apply, he said, is “the constitutional minimum.” The filing comes after years of Gusman chafing under the terms of the

consent decree, which he assented to in 2013. In 2016, the judge approved a new agreement that essentially benched Gusman, after court hearings during which monitors described frequent violence and absentee guards. A court-appointed administrator took over jail operations. Gusman said in April that he planned to file to reassume control of the jail. But in the explosive filing entered into the court record May 26, a day after the deadline Africk gave him, Gusman asked for an end to the consent decree. Alternatively, he would like the judge to prune its mandates. Africk did not immediately respond to Gusman’s request, which could prompt the judge to hold a full hearing on whether the sheriff has completed the consent decree’s reforms and whether the pact still applies. That could involve extensive testimony on current conditions inside the jail. In a January report, monitors had praised progress at the jail and improvements under Compliance Director Darnley Hodge, who was appointed to run the lockup in 2018. The judge’s monitors toured the jail virtually in midMay in preparation for another update, and their next report could influence Africk’s decision.

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access was uneven, as services such as Waitr and UberEats that covered wide swaths of the state were boxed out. The legislation headed to Gov. John Bel Edwards for a signature. — SAM KARLIN/THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE ADVOCATE

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In an interview two weeks ago, Hodge said he believes he’s completed the task outlined for him in a 2016 court order and that the jail has fulfilled the consent decree. — MATT SLEDGE/THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE

Bike-share program may be racked The company that operates New Orleans’ bike-share program suspended its services in late March to reduce the spread of coronavirus. Now, it’s unclear if it will be coming back at all. Jump Blue Bikes, previously owned by Uber, changed ownership in early May and announced it was “joining forces” with Lime, the electric scooter company. Lime acquired Jump as part of the deal and Uber gained a larger investment in Lime and the option to purchase the e-scooter company in two years, according to the Wall Street Journal. No decision has been made yet on whether Lime will continue the bikeshare program in New Orleans, company spokesman Russell Murphy said. “We’re continuing discussions with the city,” he said. The pedal-powered bicycles that had been in service since 2017 were replaced in February with e-bikes that have a lithium battery in their frames and a motor in their front wheel hub, allowing them to go up to 20 mph. Most of the e-bikes were collected from around the city when the program was suspended in March, said a mechanic who worked in one of the Blue Bike warehouses. City Hall is in conversations with Uber and Lime and with Blue Bikes sponsor Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana to come up with a solution that is in the best interest of residents, said Laura Bryan, director of the Mayor’s Office of Transportation. “The City of New Orleans has requested to both Uber and Lime that bikes are not removed until next steps are finalized,” she said. “The city remains committed to providing a bike-share program and to improving bicycling infrastructure.” — SARA SNEATH/ THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE

New Orleans’ film industry hopes to resume work in July; Harrah’s also working to reopen New Orleans’ once-bustling film industry is preparing to reopen in July under strict new guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus, Mayor LaToya Cantrell said May 27. The mayor said the specifics of how movies and television shows will be filmed are still being ironed out, but that the industry hopes to reopen in New Orleans next month. Cantrell said she will meet soon

with Harrah’s Casino to discuss its plans for reopening. Casinos are closed as part of Cantrell’s first phase of reopening New Orleans. The mayor did not provide a date when the city will move into Phase 2 of reopening, saying information about how the city is progressing in Phase 1 hasn’t come in yet. Cantrell’s reopening plan has been more cautious than the one governing most of the rest of Louisiana, with tighter restrictions on casinos, churches and restaurants compared to other parts of the state. Her approach was criticized by some business owners who wanted to see New Orleans reopen earlier than the May 16 date Cantrell set. They also questioned her requirement that businesses track names and phone numbers of patrons in case they were needed for contact tracing. Despite the complaints, Cantrell said most businesses have been following the rules. More than 2,300 businesses have registered with the State Fire Marshal as required, she said, and about 144 are not in compliance with rules. Residents also have largely adhered to the rules, she said, although the city received 83 calls about oversized public gatherings over the Memorial Day weekend, compared to a high of 300 calls in late March. — JESSICA WILLIAMS/ THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE

Doobie Brothers postpone New Orleans stop on 50th anniversary tour The Doobie Brothers have postponed their entire 2020 tour due to the coronavirus pandemic, including an Oct. 15 stop in New Orleans. The band has rescheduled most of the tour dates for 2021. The Doobies now are slated to end the rescheduled tour at the Smoothie King Center on Oct. 23, 2021. Tickets purchased for the original show will be honored, or ticketholders can receive a refund. Several stops on the original itinerary, including a date in Bossier City, have been canceled outright. The tour was to have celebrated the band’s 50th anniversary. The delayed tour will feature former Doobie Brothers vocalist Michael McDonald reunited with longtime Doobies Pat Simmons, Tom Johnston and John McFee. New Orleans’ own Dirty Dozen Brass Band was slated to be the opening act for the original tour’s opening act. No word yet if the Dirty Dozen will be a part of the postponed tour, which starts in July 2021. — KEITH SPERA/THE TIMES-PICAYUNE | THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE

COMMENTARY

n e ve r h a ve too m

a ny

THE NEW ORLEANS CITY COUNCIL WILL VOTE Thursday,

June 4, on a landmark proposal to give direct assistance to residential Entergy customers rendered unemployed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The “City Council Cares” program is the brainchild of council utilities committee chair Helena Moreno, who asked the council’s utility advisers to figure out a way P H OTO B Y T R AV E L I N G L I G H T/G E T T Y I M AG E S to help financially “This program could benefit more stressed ratepayers pay their monthly bills during the pandemic. The than 50,000 Entergy customers,” plan put forth by the advisors, with Moreno said. “It won’t cover all their input from Entergy New Orleans, bills, but it will help them — and it represents a needed win-win-win will help the utility because it will during these difficult times. encourage people to pay at least The program, which appears cerpart of their bills. Entergy has a tain to gain council approval, would very high percentage of its customprovide unemployed residential ers in arrears right now, which hurts ratepayers a total of $400 in direct the utility as well as other paying bill credits, up to a maximum of $100 customers because utilities can per month for four months starting recover their losses via higher with the July billing cycle. In addition, rates. This represents a win for all current late fees would be waived. all [Entergy] ratepayers in The plan would cost Entergy a New Orleans.” total of $22 million but would not reWe agree. We would add that quire a rate increase. The money will the program also reflects the come from two sources: $7 million wisdom of having utility advisors from a Federal Energy Regulatory with national expertise helping the Commission (FERC) settlement council regulate Entergy. In fact, that Entergy holds in abeyance; and it was Clinton Vince, the council’s $15 million from an excess disaster lead utility consultant, whose work preparedness reserve fund. Enterin recent decades produced all $22 gy maintains two storm reserve million that now will fund the rate accounts, one containing more than relief program. Vince represented $67 million and another with more the council against Entergy in the than $15 million. Funds from the FERC case that yielded the $7 milsmaller account, which the council lion settlement, and he negotiated and Entergy consider no longer with Entergy after Hurricane Katrina needed to buffer the utility against to establish the storm reserve fund future disasters, would go to the that still contains $15 million. Credit rate relief program. also goes to Entergy for working Ratepayers can qualify for the with the council to help implement program by providing proof of the program. unemployment benefits received Moreno says the council also under the federal CARES Act, which hopes New Orleans will get a covers salaried workers as well as healthy share of $30 million in local “gig” and 1099 workers, Morefederal funds allocated to Louisiana no said. People who get benefits to help poor and elderly people pay under the act received notification their utility bills. We hope so, too. letters that will suffice as proof needed to qualify for the utility bill Such programs are big wins for assistance, Moreno added. local ratepayers.

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N.O. Council plan will help unemployed Entergy customers pay past-due bills

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the topic of discussion involves New Orleans’ French Quarter. Every proposed rule change, no matter how minor or nuanced it may seem to people who don’t live or work there, triggers a political brawl among the Vieux Carre’s oft-competing constituencies. When an idea crops up that genuinely has the potential to transform life and commerce in all corners of the Quarter, the gloves tend to come off early. It’s surprising, therefore, to see some early agreement around the idea of turning much of the Quarter into a pedestrian mall. The idea is not new, but it has suddenly gained new traction as the COVID-19 pandemic cripples businesses in the city’s oldest neighborhood. Mayor LaToya Cantrell unveiled the concept — and her support of it — which she calls “No Cars in the Quarter,” during a May 27 online question-and-answer session hosted by The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate. “This is the city’s time to reimagine just how we live, how we move about ... and how we get to know and learn the fabric of our city,” Cantrell said. In normal times — and who knows when we might return to something resembling “normal” times — such comments would spark a chorus of super-heated responses almost immediately. Instead, according to the newspaper’s story, representatives of some of the Quarter’s leading constituencies voiced at least minimal openness to, if not outright support for, the idea. Quarter business folks have long protected vehicular access in the interest of deliveries and customer access. It practically took an act of Congress to get oversized tour buses out of the Quarter decades ago, and the group successfully blocked former Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s idea of banning traffic on Bourbon Street. Now, French Quarter Business Association Executive Director Brittany Mulla McGovern says the group is “open to exploring” Cantrell’s idea. “It’s not an immedi-

P H OTO B Y RICHARD A. WEBSTER

Musicians play near the intersection of Royal and St. Peter streets in the French Quarter. A move is afoot to make much of the Quarter a pedestrian mall.

ate ‘no.’ It’s not an immediate ‘yes,’ but it’s like, ‘Let’s talk about this,’ ” McGovern says. That’s a sea change. Similarly, Vieux Carre Property Owners, Residents and Associates (VCPORA) Executive Director Erin Holmes said the group could consider short-term options to help local businesses remain open during these difficult times. Holmes said VCPORA opposes blocking all vehicular traffic in the Quarter. Cantrell says the concept is still in development by a “tiger team” that she quietly assembled in early May. Among the idea’s possibilities are allowing Quarter restaurants to use street space for additional outdoor seating. The city’s reopening rules strictly limit how many patrons can dine indoors. District C Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer, whose district includes the Quarter, says she supports the idea but wants to make sure residents will have ready access and businesses will be able to get deliveries. Few neighborhoods in America have as many strong, vocal constituencies as does the Vieux Carre. Big decisions there always require a delicate balancing act, and the devil is in the details. Timing likewise plays a key role. As COVID-19 changes how we live and work — and govern — is the timing right for another big change in the city’s oldest neighborhood? Time will tell.

BLAKE PONTCHARTRAIN™

@GambitBlake | askblake@gambitweekly.com

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Hey Blake, I went to St. Augustine School on Gov. Nicholls Street. My mother graduated from there in 1926, when it was the first Mount Carmel Academy, before that school moved to the lakefront. What can you tell me about its history? —PETER

Dear Peter,

While the historical importance of St. Augustine Church, a Treme landmark regarded as the country’s oldest black Catholic church, is well-known, readers may not be familiar with the schools that operated nearby. Before the church opened in 1841, the property in the 1200 block of Gov. Nicholls Street (then called Hospital Street) was home to the College d’Orleans, a school for the city’s French-speaking population. It was established in 1811 on what had been the plantation of Claude Treme, the neighborhood’s namesake. According to the Friends of the Cabildo book “New Orleans Architecture: Faubourg Treme and the Bayou Road,” classes were held in the former plantation house. The school closed in 1823. A school for free children of color opened on the site sometime after 1826. In 1836, the Ursuline nuns bought the school and ran it for four years. The Sisters of Our Lady of Mount Carmel purchased the property in 1840. They operated a school for young women in the former plantation house, which also served as the nuns’ convent. In 1926, the sisters relocated to Robert E. Lee Boulevard and opened Mount Carmel Academy, the all-girls

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St. Augustine Church in Treme is a center of cultural life and for a time operated a parochial school.

Catholic high school. After the sisters left Treme, their convent and school were demolished. St. Augustine Church then established its own parochial school on the property. According to a 1967 Times-Picayune article, St. Augustine’s enrollment peaked at about 250 students in the mid-1950s. In the 1960s, nuns from the Sisters of the Holy Family taught students in kindergarten and elementary school classes. When the school closed in 1967, it had fewer than 75 students. The school had no connection to St. Augustine High School, which the Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart (the Josephites) opened on A.P. Tureaud Avenue in 1951.

BLAKEVIEW THIS WEEK MARKS THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY of the National World War II

Museum, which opened in the Warehouse District on June 6, 2000. That date was selected to coincide with the anniversary of the 1944 D-Day invasion, since the original name of the facility was the National D-Day Museum. It fulfilled a dream of University of New Orleans history professors Stephen Ambrose and Gordon “Nick” Mueller. For years, the pair championed the city as an ideal location for such a museum because this was the home of Higgins Industries, whose New Orleans-built landing crafts were instrumental in the Allied invasion of Normandy, France. Special guests at the opening ceremony included “Saving Private Ryan” actor Tom Hanks; the film’s director, Steven Spielberg; and newsman Tom Brokaw. In 2003, the museum was designated by Congress as America’s official National World War II Museum. It has experienced phenomenal growth, with a campus now encompassing 6 acres. Its exhibits, multimedia experiences and thousands of personal accounts tell the story of World War II on the battlefront and the home front.

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HEAD SPACE New Orleanians will deal with the trauma from the coronavirus pandemic long after the city reopens.

BY JAKE CLAPP

SOON AFTER NEW ORLEANS’ STAY-AT-HOME ORDER WAS PUT IN PLACE , the

University of Holy Cross began offering the public free, remote counseling sessions through its Thomas E. Chambers Counseling and Training Center. The center offers low-cost — normally $20 for a 50-minute session — counseling services for the public, faculty and students. It also is a training ground for students working toward degrees in counseling. “We’re already seeing the anxiety and depression and a tremendous amount of fear that everyone has,” Carolyn White, the school’s dean of counseling, education and business, told Gambit when the program began. “We’re bombarded with so much information that it’s hard to sort through and process, so the anxiety rises.” The remote counseling program has held about 900 sessions since March 17. “Some of these were our long-

term clients that would normally come into the center,” White said recently, “but a tremendous amount are new clients. We get anywhere from five to 20 new calls a day from people from the community.” National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) New Orleans, which offers case management, medication management and counseling services for people with mental illness, also quickly moved to provide telehealth services to its enrolled clients, often counseling over the telephone.

So did the LSU Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC) Department of Psychiatry. The department provides most of the mental health services at LSU Medical Center and the child psychiatry components at Children’s Hospital. It also works closely with the Metropolitan Human Services District (MHSD), which offers a variety of remote services including a virtual support chat line. In addition, Bastion Community of Resilience began offering free talk therapy and health coaching for military veterans and their families; The New Orleans Grief Center began group teletherapy sessions over Zoom; and the Louisiana Department of Health set up a 24-7 “Keeping Calm through COVID” hotline. The city’s NOLA Ready website

collected many of these resources and others in a central location. The COVID-19 pandemic has left a heavy mark on mental health across the country. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 56% of U.S. adults who responded reported that “worry or stress related to the coronavirus outbreak has caused them to experience at least one negative effect on their mental health and well-being, such as problems with sleeping or eating, increased alcohol use, or worsening chronic conditions. Stress and worry around the coronavirus also seem to affect larger shares of frontline health care workers and their families (64%) as well as those who experienced an income loss (65%).”

By May 28, Orleans Parish has had 7,067 coronavirus cases and 505 deaths, and there have been 7,424 cases and 441 deaths in Jefferson Parish. In early May, New Orleans’ unemployment rate hit 25%, the highest in the state. According to area mental health professionals, the pandemic has many people they talk with worried about an uncertain future, causing an increase in stress, anxiety and depression, which is only worsened by job loss or cut wages and isolation through physical distancing measures. While New Orleans and the state grapple with reopening plans, local mental health professionals are considering the trauma left by the coronavirus era. “The mental health issues as we begin and further reopen may become more apparent,” says Dr. Howard Osofsky, chair of LSU’s Department of Psychiatry. “They’ve certainly been here throughout the epidemic. There are concerns that people have, in addition to depression and anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder. We’ve seen an increase in irritability, and people having difficulty falling asleep and for others waking up and not being able to fall back asleep. “It doesn’t mean that these are all going to be resolved when stores begin to open up. There are fears about risk of infection, what’s going to happen next with employment or unemployment, people who’ve been told they’ve lost their jobs or have to take a pay cut.”

Stresses during an infectious disease outbreak can include: fear and worry about your health or the health of loved ones; changes in sleep or eating patterns; difficulty sleeping or concentrating; worsening chronic health problems; and an increased use of alcohol, tobacco or other drugs, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Health professionals also worry about increased rates of child abuse, domestic violence and suicide. One of the challenges of combating the pandemic has been that physical distancing, one of our most useful tools, leads to isolation for many who already are anxious or depressed. Health experts now emphasize sayings like “physically distant, but socially con-

In May, the City of New Orleans launched an initiative to provide no-cost, virtual mental health services for city employees and their families, including New Orleans Police Department, Fire Department and Office of Emergency Medical Services employees. The program is in partnership with LSUHSC’s Department of Psychiatry — faculty of the school provide the services — the New Orleans Health Department and New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. “We need to look at mental health the same way we look at physical health in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mayor LaToya Cantrell said in a press statement. “So we know that one of the most vital services we can provide during this time is mental health services.” Frontline workers are facing a host of mental health risk factors. As cited in an April BBC article about “moral injury” (trauma associated with emotional guilt over witnessing, committing or failing to prevent an event that goes against a moral belief), a recent paper by Rita Brock and HC Palmer stated

that “the fight against the coronavirus is strikingly similar to battlefield medicine: desperate and unrelenting encounters with patients, an environment of high personal risk, an unseen lethal enemy, extreme physical and mental fatigue, inadequate resources and unending accumulations of the dead.” “They’re dealing with crucial services,” Osofsky says. “First responders are getting called in for major needs, including taking people to the hospital, especially at the height of the epidemic. There are significant numbers who themselves have had infection, fortunately most of them are better now, but there are concerns about family and family concerns about them. At the same time, they’re doing greater risk services.” Osofsky emphasizes it was important to the Department of Psychiatry to provide these services confidentially and at no cost — many of those workers earn low wages. “This came up after Katrina, when we had been in the field with first responders, they would reach out and say, ‘We would like help for us and our families,’ ” says Osofsky. Following Hurricane Katrina, Osofsky and his wife, Dr. Joy Osofsky, were clinical directors with the Louisiana Spirit Crisis Counseling Program, which worked with displaced first responders.

Isolation through physical distancing also has been a particular challenge for returning military veterans, says Dylan Tete executive director and founder of Bastion Community of Resilience. Bastion, on Mirabeau Avenue in Gentilly, is a neighborhood campus of 58 apartments for veterans transitioning out of military service and their families to live alongside retired military and civilian volunteers. The organization also is building a commercial wellness center. Historically, isolation has been a major hurdle for the returning veterans, says Tete, who fought in the Iraq War. The Bastion concept connects veterans in a supportive community. “And that’s why this quarantine can be so hard,” he says. “This is unprecedented. We’ve been at war for two decades, and we’ve asked a lot of our military. And while it is true that our military and our returning warriors are some of the most resilient, we struggle with things like posttraumatic stress and anxiety and depression.” When the pandemic closed New Orleans, Bastion began offering talk therapy sessions with a licensed social worker — also a Marine veteran — as well as health coaching and virtual support groups. Many returning veterans may not want to reach out, Tete says. “We

P H OTO P R OV I D E D B Y DAV I D S C H M I T

Dylan Tete is the founder and executive director of Bastion Community of Resilience, a neighborhood campus in Gentilly for returning military veterans and their families.

P H OTO P R OV I D E D B Y TO N Y T R I B O U

Dr. Howard Osofsky, chair of LSU’s department of psychiatry.

P H OTO B Y F I Z K E S / G E T T Y I M AG E S

Students training to be counselors at the University of Holy Cross are offering free therapy sessions that will be conducted remotely, as residents in the New Orleans area struggle with anxiety and other mental health concerns during the coronavirus pandemic.

don’t like asking for help, we’ve been trained a certain way, and the perception is that that is a sign of weakness. You really have to know your population, and they have to trust you. When I think about access, it’s not just creating a telehealth program that’s a silver bullet — you have to have a relationship and reputation with the folks that you serve.” During a disaster, Tete says, people tend to come together and find a sense of commonality, pitching in and helping one another. “That was my experience in post-Katrina New Orleans,” he says. “But it’s after the disaster where things get more complicated. I predict that the need for these types of services will only increase.”

There will be challenges in New Orleans for equitable mental health care as the city begins to reopen, professionals say. “I think the government is trying very hard,” Osofsky says. “I think Mayor Cantrell, the Health Department, the Board of Education are all trying very hard. But there are limited economic resources. That’s true throughout the country in many ways.” The impact of the pandemic on urban areas as well as society’s racial and economic inequities — made that much more vivid by COVID-19 — will affect and need to be addressed in access to care, Osofsky says. New Orleans mental health professionals are “all trying very hard to make the quality of care that is needed for our community,” he says. “But school districts will be faced with, in all likelihood, budget cuts. The city, as you know, is dealing with the economic costs, and starting off with some underlying problems that I know everyone would like to address and … economic difficulties add a further layer of concern.” Osofsky says the city has resources like the public agency Metropolitan Human Services District and two medical schools as well as Ochsner Health. “We do have resources. But do we have enough? The answer is no,” he says. White believes the greater New Orleans area has a lot of good, capable counselors and social workers. But there may not be “enough,” she says, for everyone who may need services, and there is room for those who graduate from counseling and social worker programs to find jobs. The number of psychiatrists, especially for those who do not have insurance or can afford their co-pays, White adds, has lagged since Hurricane Katrina. PAGE 14

13 G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > J u n e 2 - 8 > 2 0 2 0

nected” to urge people to check on each other and stay connected by phone, social media or online. And for people with mental illness, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and PTSD, isolation can exacerbate the challenges they face. “For many of the people that we work with, [NAMI New Orleans] is one of the few places that they can come for regular support and for interaction, for therapeutic opportunities,” says Lisa Romback, executive director for NAMI New Orleans. “Isolation is not good for anyone, but especially for someone with a mental health condition.” NAMI New Orleans, which normally hosts support groups and operates drop-in centers Uptown and on the West Bank, has been working with its clients digitally and over the telephone during the pandemic. But “talking with someone over the phone is not the same as having an in-person interaction,” Romback says, and some patients don’t have phones or regular housing. The pandemic has “created a trauma situation,” Holy Cross’ White says. “And it’s a collective trauma. It’s sort of like after [Hurricane] Katrina, even the people who didn’t lose their home, there was still that collective trauma that you felt as a community.” Recovery from that trauma, White adds, could take a while. “Not for everyone, maybe,” she says, “some people may bounce back — it could depend on personality and mental health before this started — but I do think there’s going to be lasting trauma here.”

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Clockwise from far left: Jack Groh, Elisha Schiller, Benjamin Wilkins, Alexander Wilson, Kaylie Cross and Zachary Wilkins (front) are high school students involved with Remedy Ribbons, which was started by Zachary Wilkins. They are working to raise funds for healthcare workers in need of mental health support services. In May, they tied blue ribbons around trees on the neutral ground outside of Tulane Medical Center as a show of gratitude.

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Before the hurricane and the federal levee failures, New Orleans had 196 psychiatrists; that number fell to just 22 in the year following the storm. Around the same time, the number of inpatient mental-health beds dropped from 487 to 190. Both numbers have since risen, but are not back to pre-storm levels. It’s also tough for many New Orleanians to include care into their budgets, White says. There are good counselors in the city, she says, “I think the problem is mainly, how do people pay for it? How do they stretch their budget to pay for it if they don’t have insurance? And even if they have insurance, some people can’t come up with that $30 or $40 copay.” There’s also stigma around seeking mental health care. “Long term, I think people have to realize there is no stigma to saying, ‘I need some help, I need somebody to talk to, I need to sort this out, and it’s easier to do that if I’m talking to someone who is there for me.’ ” Like other businesses, NAMI New Orleans has experienced staff reductions, Romback says, “which then puts … a strain on your other workers.” The organization currently is trying to fill positions, but hiring has been challenging since the position requires direct contact with others. NAMI New Orleans has started to offer some services in the community again, which requires personal protective equipment for both workers and clients. “Prior to COVID-19, we could have anywhere from five to 25

P H OTO P R OV I D E D B Y C A R O LY N W H I T E

Carolyn White is the dean of counseling, education and business as well chair of counseling and behavioral sciences at the University of Holy Cross.

people in our program on a given day,” Romback says. “I don’t know that we’ll be able to return to a point where we could have 25 people at the program at the same time. We’ll have to deal with a staggered schedule, and that’s difficult when you’re operating a drop-in [center].” Oftentimes, Romback says, people may stop seeking care when it’s difficult to find or isn’t a good match for what they need. NAMI New Orleans operates a Mental Health Navigation Team that helps callers find information and services provided by the organization and its community partners. “Don’t be afraid to reach out for help,” Romback says. “If you don’t get what you need on the first try, please continue seeking out help.”

Resources in the New Orleans area

Bastion Community of Resilience.

1-888-737-5577; www.joinbastion. org. Offering talk therapy, health coaching and support groups during the pandemic for returning veterans and the general public.

Domestic violence and sexual assault services.

The City of New Orleans lists these resources for those seeking help in domestic violence and sexual assault situations: The New Orleans Family Justice Center (504-866-9554; www.nofjc. org); Women with a Vision (504302-8822; www.wwav-no.org); and Sexual Trauma Awareness & Response (855-435-7827; www.star.ngo).

“Keeping Calm through COVID” Hotline.

1-866-310-7977. A 24/7 hotline that connects people with trained mental health and substance abuse counselors. People can also text REACHOUT (all caps together) to 741741 to connect to a trained crisis counselor for free, confidential support.

Louisiana 211.

Dial 2-1-1 to find health and human services available in the state.

Louisiana Department of Health.

www.ldh.la.gov/coronavirus. The state provides information and updates about COVID-19.

LSU Health’s Behavioral Science Center.

(504) 412-1580; www.lsuhn.com/ services/behavioral-science-center. Offers psychiatry services and other mental health specialists.

Metropolitan Human Services District.

(504) 568-3130; www.mhsdla. org. Offering person-centered support and services for people with mental illness, addictive disorders and intellectual and/ or developmental disabilities in Orleans, Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes. Uninsured or Medicaid eligible people are accepted. MHSD operates a virtual support chat line during the week and has a 24-hour crisis hotline at (504) 826-2675.

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National Alliance on Mental Illness New Orleans.

Uptown, (504) 896-2345; West Bank, (504) 368-1944; www.namineworleans.org. Offering an array of services for those with mental illness, NAMI New Orleans also offers a Mental Healthcare Navigation Team (MHNT) to help connect people to proper care that is available 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday. MHNT can be reached at (504) 8962345 or email gladys@namineworleans.org.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

1-800-273-8255; www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org. Offering free, confidential support 24-7 over the phone or through chat.

New Orleans Grief Center.

(504) 475-8312; www.neworleansgriefcenter.com. Offering counseling, group sessions and teletherapy for those experiencing grief through loss of a loved one.

NOLA Ready.

ready.nola.gov. Emergency information from the City of New Orleans along with the latest news about COVID-19 in the area.

SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline.

1-800-985-5990 and 1-800-6624357. A crisis support hotline operated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The helpline also takes text messages: Text TalkWithUs to 66746.

University of Holy Cross Counseling Program.

(504) 398-2168. Free, remote counseling program offered by the University of Holy Cross’ Thomas E. Chambers Counseling and Training Center.

Voice Care.

(504) 264-1381; voicecare.help. Free telecare for health care workers, first responders, and coronavirus patients and their family members.

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Give where you live, NO NEWS IS BAD NEWS Gambit reports on the city we love, connects you to New Orleans, and covers the issues that matter —all for free. By becoming a Gambit Member, you are showing your support for local journalism and helping us continue our mission (you will receive some great perks too!)

BESTOFNEWORLEANS.COM/MEMBER

adopt-a-small business. April 28, 2020 Volume 41 // Number 15 March 17-23, 2020 11 Volume 41 // Number

bestofneworleans.com/shopsmall

For more information visit bestofneworleans.com/shopsmall *PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A CHARITABLE DONATION AND DOES NOT QUALIFY FOR A TAX DEDUCTION.

» Tiana Watts » Tiara Washington Konate » Tiffany Campo

» Tracey Collins » Tracy Centanni » Tracy Jenkins

» William King » William Triplett » Xiomara Blanco

From Magazine Street to Metairie Road, independently-owned shops and restaurants help our region thrive. As we all face the economic disruptions wrought by COVID-19, we at Gambit want to do our part by offering a new way to support local businesses. “Adopt A Small Business” is an initiative designed to promote locally-owned businesses AND support local journalism. Help your favorite local businesses advertise — in Gambit at very reduced rates — so they can let customers know they’re still open

G A M B I T > B E S T O F N E WO R L E A N S . C O M > J u n e 2 - 8 > 2 02 0

GIVE Where You Live opt-Ad A