Center aids needy residents

As a single mother of two little boys, Geneva Williams may not have made it this long on her own without the New Iberia Social Service Center.

“They’ve been really fantastic,” said Williams, 23. “When you need it, they’ve got it.”

The center is one of 10 non-profit agencies in the Teche Area that rely heavily, if not heavily, on donations. Each year before Christmas, The Daily Iberian encourages readers to consider donating to one or more organizations through its Help the Helpers program, an extension of the newspaper’s Make A Difference and Adopt-a-Family programs.

For the past year, Williams has been one of the scores of local residents in need to line up outside the Social Service Center on Bank Avenue just before 9 a.m. to receive assistance in paying utility bills.

“A lot of people have shame in their game,” Williams said just hours after receiving $40 from the center toward her monthly light bill. “Sometimes there might be people looking at you out there on the street waiting in line. But they’re not going to help you when you need it.”

The Social Service Center is anticipating a steady flow of clients applying for assistance in light of the holidays and hard economic times.

Each month, the center assists scores of New Iberia residents with their rent bill or by providing clothing.

“We exist primarily on individual donations,” said Carol Gaignard, director of administration at the center.

Again this year, the center will be hosting a toy drive in addition to the other services it provides. For the Social Service Center family, this marks the first holiday season without Paul DeClouet, the former executive director of the center who died in February.

His widow, Shirley DeClouet, has taken over as executive director.

If you’d like to help the Social Service Center, you can mail a donation to Help the Helpers at The Daily Iberian, P.O. Box 9290, New Iberia, LA 70562 or drop it by the newspaper’s office at the corner of Main and Lewis streets. You can make out checks to Help the Helpers.