The “Lost My Home” fundraiser calls on the community to help local families facing homelessness.
Lafayette Parish has seen an alarming increase in family homelessness and a fast decrease in shelter capacity since the COVID-19 pandemic started.
This inspired Social Entertainment to initiate their next fundraiser: “Lost My Home Fund”.
“Lost My Home Fund” kicks off this Friday (6/12/20) with the goal to raise $50.000 in funds for Catholic Charities of Acadiana, in order to help families in Lafayette Parish who lost their home due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Social Entertainment urgently calls on the community to help bring immediate relief to local families experiencing housing instability. Catholic Charities of Acadiana says that financial support from the Federal and State level is critical to preventing an unprecedented homeless crisis in Lafayette Parish. However, with the support of our local community, every dollar donated can make a difference for a family in need today.
Lafayette Parish has seen a 58% rise in homelessness since the onset of the COVID-19, with 450 new individuals experiencing homelessness. Many people have lost their jobs and are without housing for the first time in their lives. The face of homelessness post-COVID-19 will look very different. A recent report reflects a shocking increase of 193% in family homelessness in just two months. Emergency shelter capacity in Lafayette Parish has decreased by 69% due to the recent closure of the Salvation Army shelter and other shelters forced to decrease capacity due to social distancing protocols. As eviction and utility disconnection moratoriums end in the coming weeks, it is projected that homelessness will continue to escalate at an alarming rate through the end of the year. With 80,000 unemployment claims filed and 5,000 LUS utility customers with over 60 days in arrears, hundreds of households are facing eviction in the coming months. ‘Lost My Home Fund’ is Social Entertainment’s third fundraiser since the pandemic started. Nearly $100,000 was raised through the previous fundraisers ‘Lost My Gig Fund’ and ‘Lost My Tips Fund’, to help local musicians and service industry workers who were financially affected by COVID-19. “This crisis affects everyone’s lives and touches our hearts”, says Gus Rezende, owner of Social Entertainment.
For more information and to donate visit Facebook.com/socialentertainment.la
or visit catholiccharitiesacadiana.org