Families at risk of losing their children and young adults who have recently aged out of the foster system will have greater access to emergency housing vouchers in Jefferson Parish thanks to a federal grant awarded to the Jefferson Parish public housing agency.
The Jefferson Parish Housing Services Development District is one of 13 housing authorities across the country that will split up $10 million in federal money. Jefferson Parish received 46 vouchers, or $417,064 in funding.
The housing vouchers will be distributed either to families who are at risk of their children being placed in the foster care system primarily because of a lack of housing or to young adults aged 18-24 who have spent time in the foster system.
The 46 vouchers could impact hundreds of people in need of housing, said Dorian Rowles, executive director of the Jefferson Parish Housing Services Development District.