BATON ROUGE (September 11, 2008) - As a safety precaution due to tropical storm force winds already hitting the coast of Louisiana, traffic concerns, and due to mandatory and voluntary evacuations ordered on the coast, the Department of Social Services is closing 27 Disaster Food Stamp sites at 4 p.m. Anyone who is not served today will receive a time stamped application to get them ahead in line when they try again. Also, the program has been extended to Tuesday, September 23rd.
The following sites will close in order to ensure the safety of our citizens.
Christian Fellowship, St. Bernard, 5816 E. Judge Perez, Violet
St. Patrick's Family Life Center, Plaquemines, 28698 Hwy. 23, Port Sulphur (already closed)
Community Worship Center, Assumption, 6688, Hwy 70 North, Plattenville
Bayou Black Recreation Center, Terrebonne, 3688 Southdown Mandalay Rd., Houma
Kirschman's Building, Terrebonne, 115 Armour Dr., Houma
West Bank Reception Center, St James, 2455 Highway 18, Vacherie
Bayou Centroplex, Lafourche, 18183 E. Main St., Galliano
St. Charles Parish OFS, St. Charles, 14401 Hwy. 90, Boutte
Acadia OFS, Acadia, 300 East First St., Crowley
Magnolia City Park, St. Martin, 100 North Side Park D., St. Martinville
Franklin Recreation Center, St. Mary, Gum St. (only building on the street), Franklin
Sacred Heart Church Hall, St. Mary, 318 Thi! rd St. Morgan City
West St. Mary Civic Center, St. Mary, 1498 Hwy 318, Jeanerette
St. Theresa Catholic Church Hall, Vermillion, 101 North Leonard, Abbeville
Alario Center, Jefferson, 2000 Segnette Blvd., Westwego,
Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church, EBR, 9700 Scenic Highway, Baton Rouge
Plaquemine Civic Center, Iberville, 24700 J. Gerald Verrett Blvd, Plaquemine
Pointe Coupee Multi Use Center, Pointe Coupee, 1400 Major Parkway, New Roads
West Feliciana Parish Parks and Recreation Center, West Feliciana, 10266 West Feliciana Pkwy, St. Francisville
North Park, Livingston, 30372 Eden Church Road, Denham Springs
African American Heritage Museum, Tangipahoa, 1600 Phoenix, Hammond
Sorrento Civic Center, Ascension, 9608 Airline Highway, Sorrento
Our Lady Queen of All Saints Family, Evangeline, 1220 Dardeau Street, Ville Platte
West End Community Center, Iberia, 1200 Field Street, Iberia
City of O! pelousas Teen Center, St. Landry, 1524 South Market, Opelousas
Blackham Coliseum, Lafayette, 2330 Johnston Street, Lafayette
Allen Parish Civic Center, Allen, 609 Tiger Lane, Oberlin (closing at 6 p.m.)
DSS expects these sites to reopen no later than Sunday. Residents who go to shelters will be able to apply for Disaster Food Stamps. DSS will deploy staff into the shelters in order to ensure that the application process continues. Also, sites that are not in the path of the storm will remain open from 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. Where possible, DSS will deploy additional staff to those sites. Here is a list of those sites:
East Feliciana Parish Early Childhood Learning Center, East Feliciana, 9414 Plank Road, Clinton
East Baton Rouge OFS, EBR, 1919 North Boulevard, Baton Rouge,
Capitol High School, EBR, 1000 North 23rd Street, Baton Rouge
St. Gabriel Community Center, Iberville, 1745 Highway 30, St. Gabriel
West Baton Rouge OFS, WBR, 1622 Court Street, Port Allen
Castine Center, St. Tammany, 63350 Pelican Blvd., Mandeville
Amite Community Center, Tangipahoa, 101 West Chestnut Street, Amite
New Orleans Convention Center, 2000 Sengette Blvd., Westwego
Peltier Park, Lafourche, 151 Peltier Park, Galliano
Bossier OFS, Bossier, 2123, Shed Road, Bossier City
Caddo OFS, Caddo, 1525 Fairfield Avenue, Shreveport
Ouachita OFS, Ouachita, 1306 North 19th Street, Monroe
Avoyelles OFS, Avoyelles, 607 Tunica Drive, Marksville
Alexandria Mall - Stein Mart, Rapides, 3437 Masonic Drive, Alexandria
! New Wine Fellowship (opens at 1 p.m. Sunday), St. John, 1929 West Airline Highway, LaPlace (will make decision at 4 p.m. today)
Rapides Parish OFS Center, Rapides, 900 Murray St., Alexandria
Also in preparation for Ike, DSS deployed staff as well as its Phoenix System to Calcasieu Parish. It will be used to register residents without their own transportation who are evacuating in advance of the hurricane. DSS is also standing up Critical Transportation Needs Shelters in coordination with OFP officials. All CTNS are on standby, although officials believe one shelter in Shreveport should be able to hold all citizens in need.
As recovery efforts continue from Hurricane Gustav, DSS Secretary Ann Silverberg Williamson will meet with USDA Food and Nutrition Services Undersecretary Nancy Martinez Johner this afternoon to discuss the repeated request to waive face-to-face interviews for Disaster Food Stamp applicants.
Today DSS deployed an additional 251 staff to make a total of 1,669 working at the application sites. Over the past two days, 78,394 applications have been processed. DSS will update those numbers this evening in a separate release.
In order to help the elderly, Council on Aging staff have been trained to administer Disaster Food Stamps. People 60 years of age or older should contact their local parish Councils on Aging for the nearest Disaster Food Stamp Assistance Application Site for seniors. If the local Council on Aging is not available, seniors should contact the Governor's Office of Elderly Affairs at 1-877-340-9100.
Again, DSS Secretary Williamson emphasized that the Disaster Food Stamps program has strictly defined income eligibility and can only be used for the purchase of food. She also reminded participants in the regular Food Stamp Program that they do not need to apply. Their monthly benefits up to maximum allotment were electronically added to their current benefit card on September 9th. They also received 20% of their August allotment to pay for loss of food.
For the latest information on hurricanes Gustav and Ike, visit emergency.louisiana.gov.
