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St. Charles Department of Community Services outlines growing demand for rental and utility aid
Summary
Department director Joan Diaz told the St. Charles Parish Council the department served thousands with food, rental and utility assistance last year and is piloting an early morning drop-in program as demand for rental aid rises with local rent increases.
Joan Diaz, director of the St. Charles Parish Department of Community Services, told the parish council on July 21 that the department functions as a safety net for working and struggling families, serving elderly and disabled residents as well as single-parent households throughout the parish.
Diaz said the department provided about $350,000 in direct assistance last federal fiscal year processed through the Louisiana Housing Corporation, served more than 5,559 meals through summer programs, distributed 399 Thanksgiving baskets and provided 735 bags of emergency food. "Our department is designed as the safety net services for struggling families throughout St. Charles Parish," Diaz told the council.
The department reported increased demand for rental assistance and noted that a typical rental assistance amount that used to be about $700 has risen to more than $1,000 because rents have increased. Diaz said the parish drew down about $91,000 last year on a HUD tenant-based rental assistance partnership brought in through Jefferson Parish and that the department supplements federally funded LIHEAP (Low-Income…
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