ST. LANDRY PARISH — ST. LANDRY PARISH, La. — As freezing temperatures grip St. Landry Parish, local leaders are working around the clock to make sure no one is left out in the cold.
A warming shelter is now open at the Indian Hills Country Club, providing beds, hot meals, and a safe place for people with nowhere else to go. For some, it’s more than just a shelter — it feels like home.
“I’m glad I’m here, not out in the rain. I got a bed, and I got heat,” said Chase Boutte, one of the people staying at the shelter. “God is good.”
Boutte said he didn’t expect the weather to become so severe.
“I didn’t realize it was going to be a big storm,” he said.
Parish officials say they are seeing more people arrive each day and expect the number of guests to continue growing.
“We’re doing a warming shelter — a temporary place for anyone who’s homeless or whose home doesn’t have reliable electricity,” said Cici Savoy with St. Landry Parish Government.
Savoy said she met Boutte at the courthouse and soon learned he had nowhere to go ahead of the winter storm.
“Thank God Cici came up to me,” Boutte said. “I’d still be out on the streets.”
Savoy says the shelter is also a reminder that compassion still exists in the community.
“When you come to a place like this, take it as an opportunity to know that people still care,” Savoy said.
Inside the shelter, volunteers worked to set up cots, distribute blankets, and serve warm meals. Donations of clothes, jackets, pillows, blankets, and ready-to-eat food continue to pour in from across the community.
“We do need donations of clothes,” Savoy said. “We have a lot of people coming in with nothing in hand or wet clothes. If we can get undergarments, warm items, coats, pillows, blankets, and food — anything we don’t have to prepare — that would be great.”
The American Red Cross is also on-site, offering support and safety guidance.
“We’re advising people — if you have nowhere to go, call someone or go to a shelter,” Clarence Lazard, Red Cross representative said. “Do not go into an abandoned house and start a fire. That can be very dangerous.”
Among the donations was a small but meaningful gesture: a one-year-old girl named Laken Thibodeaux dropped off clothes with her family.
“We want to teach her from a young age how to give back,” her grandmother said.
For now, Indian Hills is a warming shelter. But for Boutte, it’s something more.
“It feels like real family,” he said. “It feels like I’m here with real family.”
How to get help or donate
The warming shelter will remain open 24 hours a day as long as cold weather continues.
Anyone in need of assistance or information about donations can call 337-948-3688 to reach a parish representative.
