DCFS connecting family with displaced loved ones living in state-approved hotel rooms after hurricane

The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services is helping families located people they’ve lost track of after Hurricane Laura hit the southwest part of the state.

The “Connect” program is designed to reconnect families with their loved ones who are living in hotel rooms, currently being paid for by the State of Louisiana.

“The Connect line DCFS has set up is really about finding people in the shelter,” said Terri Ricks, deputy secretary at DCFS. “Unfortunately, we won’t be able to give information back to the caller, because the names of those persons in the shelters are confidential.”

It’s estimated that there are 11,000 hurricane evacuees living in hotels in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Shreveport, and somewhere between 3,000 and 9,000 from Louisiana in Texas.

“What we want to do is to give as many services as we can to our neighbors in this space right now. No one wants to be here, but Louisianians, with DCFS at the front of that, meeting the needs of those who have been harmed by Hurricane Laura.”