St. Vincent de Paul tells council emergency rent and utility aid needs have jumped

At the Harahan City Council meeting on Sept. 28, Florence Berg, secretary of the St. Vincent de Paul conference at St. Rita, described a sharp rise in emergency aid requests and urged the city to help shore up volunteer relief efforts.

"For the first 11 months of this fiscal year, which ends September 30, 77 percent are first-time petitioners," Berg said, noting that from June through August 2026 the conference received 29 calls for rent and utility aid compared with 17 calls over the same period in 2025. Berg said volunteers increasingly encounter households with children and senior citizens who face eviction or loss of utilities and that the conference had fielded cases of families living in cars.

John Turner, president of the Saint Rita conference, introduced Berg and the group offered to provide a more detailed data sheet to council members and to join follow-up conversations. Berg suggested potential city actions including a Harahan Public Emergency Aid Fund and improved transit access for low-income renters near Hickory and Dickory.

The presentation underscored limits in other regional aid: Berg said parish and regional programs were at capacity, citing a closed housing choice voucher waiting list and a utility-aid program that had reached its quota. "We don't think Harahan citizens want to see their neighbors endure loss of utilities, evictions, and homelessness," she said.

Council members thanked the volunteers and signaled willingness to follow up; no formal action was taken at the meeting. The group left the council with a promise to supply case data and participate in planning conversations about a local safety-net fund.