Mobile unit bristles with laptops, phones
By JESSICA FENDER

Capitol news bureau

Displaced Louisiana residents in Greensburg on Thursday got the chance to call relatives out of state, fill out online forms for federal aid and look for housing, all with some help from Southern University's Agricultural Center.

A university-run mobile unit equipped with six laptops, telephones and experts to help navigate the Internet will visit some of the 30 parishes where the AgCenter has a presence, a spokeswoman said.

Its first stop was a shelter.based out of the Civic Center in Greensburg -- a town about 50 miles northeast of Baton Rouge -- where about 200 evacuees landed after Katrina.

With a storm threatening to once again stir up populations and send coastal residents packing, spokeswoman Katara Williams said the unit is stepping up efforts to help the displaced make contacts and get in line for assistance.

The team's next stop?

"Somewhere in southwest Louisiana. I'm not exactly sure," Williams said.

"We're definitely going to try to crank up our efforts to make sure we have a presence with that potential disaster on it's way," Williams said.

The biggest concern in many shelters has been finding loved ones who have also been scattered throughout the state and country, Williams said.

Aside from communications equipment, a long table piled high with forms -- loan applications, USDA information, housing assistance forms and more --provided newly arrived Greensburg residents with much-needed information.

There was also an entertainment area for children.

By noon Thursday, the unit had helped about 50 people.

While residents in Greensburg have been searching for jobs and homes, the small town isn't high on anyone's priority list for aid, said John K. Holiday, the AgCenter liaison in St. Helena Parish.

"We're a small town, so we don't get a lot of attention," he said. "We really appreciate Southern University coming out and setting up this communications system."

Williams said the plan is to continue until their services are no longer needed, though the schedule is undetermined at this time.

"We plan on doing this statewide," she said.

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For more information, contact your Southern University Ag Center parish agent or visit www.suagcenter.com.

Contact:
Southern University Ag Center Public Relations Specialist, Katara Williams at (225) 771-2242 or katara_williams@suagcenter.com.