Faith House of Acadiana: Crisis Shelter for Women & Children

In the early 90’s we quickly outgrew the existing shelter capacity of only 28 beds. We would turn no one away who was in grave danger and often had women and children sleeping on sofas and in sleeping bags on the floor. It was housed in a very rapidly deteriorating building that only offered communal living spaces. A long range planning committee was formed by the board and it was determined that the only option was to build a new shelter. A new board member, Howard Frazier, was recruited to head up this undertaking. He spent close to one year looking for the proper land to buy. When he finally located the perfect spot he brought the board president to okay his selection. The land was purchased, an architect hired and the first blueprints were drawn up.

At the same time Sarah Citron enthusiastically took on this fundraising project. She called ten friends and asked each of those friends to tap ten more of their friends and �women helping women� was formed. In the next two years, this group raised over $300,000 through various fundraisers and personal contacts to local businesses and private contributors. Around this time Maria Placier, news manager for KLFY television, heard about the project and offered her support. The board had accepted the final blueprints and construction could begin when the remaining funding was available. Maria Placier set up a meeting between Howard Frazier, the architect, and a well-known and respected businessman. After careful consideration reviewing the blueprints, touring the site and having been informed of the fundraising already accomplished the donor agreed to fund the remaining portion of the construction cost. The ground breaking for the new shelter was in the spring of ’98 and the doors opened Christmas Eve 1998. The official dedication of the new facility was held on March 26, 1999.

The leadership of the Board of Directors has been stead fast and with the intense dedication of upholding the mission statement. The greatest success is that the program has grown ten-fold and continues to grow. The services offered to women and children in crisis situations have surpassed all expectations.


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In the early 80’s, Faith House (begun by Sister Mary Thomas, a Catholic nun) offered services to homeless women. Battered women were referred to the Salvation Army facility because it was a more secure facility. During this period, due to the �oil field bust,� Lafayette experienced an increased awareness of the number of homeless women in the community. Men who had re-located their families to this area were now out of work or under-employed. Many abandoned their families and homelessness was on the increase. The rise in numbers provided the community the incentive to improve/expand services available. As the calls from battered women increased, Faith House began to shelter them along with the homeless, and in 1987 strict confidentiality policies, security measures and a peer/options counseling component were added to address their needs. In 1992, the Board of Directors designated Faith House as a battered women’s program exclusively. In the late 80’s, when the problem of domestic violence was first being acknowledged by the public, law enforcement and the judicial system, funding was a major problem for Faith House, as it was for all programs. Faith House has always depended on community support for its continued existence, but public awareness was just beginning to be focused on domestic violence. The staff was truly �all purpose,� dealing with a wide variety of issues, including legal issues, the children, advocacy, counseling, plumbing, food, maintenance, etc. The overwhelming truth is that we did provide effective services for our residents in spite of our limitations. We managed, with great diligence, to function with a minimum of funds. As the public and its agencies began to focus on domestic violence, more grant money and more donations were received.			In the early 90’s we quickly outgrew the existing shelter capacity of only 28 beds. We would turn no one away who was in grave danger and often had women and children sleeping on sofas and in sleeping bags on the floor. It was housed in a very rapidly deteriorating building that only offered communal living spaces. A long range planning committee was formed by the board and it was determined that the only option was to build a new shelter. A new board member, Howard Frazier, was recruited to head up this undertaking. He spent close to one year looking for the proper land to buy. When he finally located the perfect spot he brought the board president to okay his selection. The land was purchased, an architect hired and the first blueprints were drawn up. At the same time Sarah Citron enthusiastically took on this fundraising project. She called ten friends and asked each of those friends to tap ten more of their friends and �women helping women� was formed. In the next two years, this group raised over $300,000 through various fundraisers and personal contacts to local businesses and private contributors. Around this time Maria Placier, news manager for KLFY television, heard about the project and offered her support. The board had accepted the final blueprints and construction could begin when the remaining funding was available. Maria Placier set up a meeting between Howard Frazier, the architect, and a well-known and respected businessman. After careful consideration reviewing the blueprints, touring the site and having been informed of the fundraising already accomplished the donor agreed to fund the remaining portion of the construction cost. The ground breaking for the new shelter was in the spring of ’98 and the doors opened Christmas Eve 1998. The official dedication of the new facility was held on March 26, 1999. The leadership of the Board of Directors has been stead fast and with the intense dedication of upholding the mission statement. The greatest success is that the program has grown ten-fold and continues to grow. The services offered to women and children in crisis situations have surpassed all expectations.


Faith House Mission Statement: To provide temporary shelter, safety, empowerment and advocacy, to women and children survivors of domestic violence. To promote change through community collaboration, education and violence prevention programs.
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