Chantel Matthieu felt called to help the homeless community after experiencing homelessness herself.
"I've walked in their shoes and I know how hard it is," says Matthieu. When she got back on her feet she started Cajun Compassion to give back. It's a non profit that offers food and clothing to the homeless. More recently though, Chantel has been giving even more as she noticed a major struggle the community continues to face after some facilities shut down due to Covid.
"I realized that they haven't showered in a month so that's when I started bringing them in ten by ten," says Matthieu.
Eventually she began sharing the shower in her 900 square foot apartment. However, that didn't seem like a feasible way to reach everyone in need of help. Matthieu then started asking for donations to fund an idea.
"Thankfully we received donations. We have now on our way some mobile showering units that we are going to set up and allow to take showers multiple times a week,' she says.
Cajun Compassion will provide soap and shampoo. That's on top of feeding and clothing many in our area who are homeless. It's another step toward her ultimate goal.
"We have a long term goal of building transitional housing," says Matthieu. She says Cajun Compassion is looking for private donations to help her toward the goal.
If you can help or if you're looking for help,all of the contact information for Cajun Compassion could be found here.