Advocacy Center provides services to people 50 and over affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and provides case management services to people with disabilities affected by Hurricane Katrina who meet certain eligibility criteria. Among the diverse services offered are legal representation, information and referral, outreach and training.
The Advocacy Center is a tax-exempt, private non-profit corporation organized in 1978 and governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. It is based in New Orleans with branch offices in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and Shreveport.
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Advocacy Center’s Katrina/Rita Disability Fund Seeks Donations
Our fund is running low, but applications for assistance keep coming in. Many people with disabilities continue to struggle with unpaid bills, inadequate housing, and unmet medical needs. Just a small amount of money has made a world of difference to many of these folks. We hope to continue helping people with a one-time contribution that can set them back on the path of independence and quality of life.
Donations are tax deductible and 100% of donations to this fund are used to directly help people who are most in need, enable them to return home, rebuild, and recover from this disaster. Interested persons who would like to make donations by credit card or pay-pal
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New Orleans Advocacy Center
1010 Common Street, Suite 2600
New Orleans, LA 70112
Telephone: (504) 522-2337
or 1-800-960-7705 (Toll Free) Voice/TTY
Fax: (504) 522-5507
e-mail: AdvocacyCenter@AdvocacyLA.org
Baton Rouge Advocacy Center
2704 Wooddale Blvd., Suite B
Baton Rouge, LA 70805
Telephone: (225) 925-8884 or 1-800-711-1696
Fax: (225) 925-9625
Lafayette Advocacy Center
600 Jefferson Street Suite 812
Lafayette, LA 70501
Telephone: (337) 237-7380 or 1-800-822-0210
Fax: (337) 237-0486
Shreveport Advocacy Center
2620 Centenary Blvd.
Bldg. 2, Suite 248
Shreveport, LA 71104
Telephone: (318) 227-6186 or 1-800-839-7688
Fax: (318) 227-1841
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Post Hurricane Advocacy for Seniors (PHAS)
The PHAS project’s overall goal is to ensure that seniors (age 50 and over) and persons with disabilities have the necessary information to access services and supports that will enable them to recover from the devastating effects of the recent hurricanes. In addition to making informational fliers available for use by Council on Aging staff and for dissemination, the project will allow the Advocacy Center to co-sponsor seminars with local Councils on Aging across coastal Louisiana parishes upon request. The free seminars could focus on a number of areas of need/interest by seniors and/or persons with disabilities, for examples, rights related to housing, transportation, medical services, FEMA, SBA, insurance, contractors, etc. Since the Advocacy Center has also added several areas in which direct, free assistance can be provided to seniors and persons with disabilities (for example: FEMA complaints; SBA complaints; housing discrimination; etc.). The project will run through 2006. For additional information about this project, please contact the Advocacy Center via telephone at 1-800-960-7705 or email: advocacycenter@advocacyla.org. The PHAS is made possible by a grant from the AARP Foundation.
KAT Support Coordination Program Begins
The Advocacy Center is excited to begin a new program offering support coordination/case management services to people with disabilities affected by Hurricane Katrina throughout the state. This is a 22 month grant, projected to end in October 2007. It is part of a larger, multi-state effort involving many different agencies to help people navigate the service delivery system and available resources. These organizations will work in tandem, with the Advocacy Center accepting referrals for complex cases involving individuals with disabilities and referring cases without a disability component to other organizations. “Navigating the system of government and private recovery support can be overwhelming and survivors of this disaster often don’t know their rights or whom to trust,” said Warren Harrity, interim executive director, Katrina Aid Today. “Katrina Aid Today’s trained staff and volunteers will reach out to people and families to connect them with the resources they need to recover from this tragic disruption of their lives.”
The Advocacy Center’s specialty trained case managers will help people with disabilities identify sources of support, develop personal recovery plans, acquire access to services and take appropriate action to rebuild their lives through the development and implementation of individual recovery plans. Individual recovery plans will be developed through discussion of all available options and resources with clients. Clients will then decide on desired outcomes and case managers will help them through each step to achieve this goal. As part of this implementation of individual recovery plans, case managers will make referrals to other resources and service delivery systems. Clients who need legal assistance will be referred to the Advocacy Center’s legal division. The Advocacy Center’s systems advocacy group will address systemic barriers to successful recovery.
If you are interested in finding out more about this project, please contact Stephanie Patrick at
800-960-7705 ext 143 or email Spatrick@advocacyla.org.
This grant is sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and US Department of Homeland Security through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).