By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — Annabelle Provence, a caseworker for the past eight years at the St. John Ministry of Care, put her reasoning for volunteering with the group succinctly.

“It’s a chance to lend a helping hand to people in our community,” Provence said. “It really is rewarding. The only frustrating part is we can’t help everyone, but we do what we can.”

The St. John Ministry of Care, a United Way agency, indeed does its part to give those in need a second chance. Its primary purpose is to provide residents of St. John the Baptist Parish in financial straits assistance in purchasing food or paying rent, mortgage and utilities.

“We’re here, not as an ongoing relief aid, but as an aid to people who find themselves in crisis, financial or otherwise,” St. John Ministry of Care treasurer Terry Labat said. “We give them temporary aid to get past that, to help them get over that hump.”

Labat said the assistance is often manifested in financial aid, an example being the group helping pay a portion of one’s utility bill.

The group also keeps a food bank stocked through the donations of local groups, churches and private citizens.

Caseworkers meet with each applicant and interview them, a process usually taking 45 minutes. In that time, St. John Ministry of Care determines the way each applicant may best be helped, and, in some cases, relays the applicant to an agency that may help them better if Ministry of Care cannot. An example would be a sudden interruption of work, or a fire that destroyed an applicant’s property.

Labat said the group couldn’t offer ongoing assistance, because it wouldn’t be feasible under budget constraints.

“In that room over there, we have over 5,000 (case file) folders,” he said. “If people were regulars, even a small percentage of them, we’d be forced to fold. We usually don’t pay the entire bill for those we can help. We help with a portion, so that person can hopefully get back on their feet going forward.

“One thing we generally ask a client is, ‘How do you plan to pay this bill next month?’ And when they do pay a portion of the bill, it gives them something to feel good about.”

Unfortunately, Labat said he and his Ministry teammates know not every applicant is going to be completely honest.

“We get taken advantage of sometimes,” Labat said, “but if even three or four out of every 10 are very legitimate, and we do what we can do for them, we feel like we’re making a positive impact on our home community.”

During the holiday season, Labat said the Ministry of Care sees a higher volume of donations, with so many local schools, churches and groups putting on food drives.

“Almost every local school donates something (during Christmas season),” Labat said. “It gives us a lift.”

One of the biggest points of emphasis Labat and Provence reiterated was anything donated in St. John Parish stays in St. John Parish.

“Your donation will help someone locally, in our parish,” Provence said. “It does not leave.”

Those donations are indeed helpful — financial help and non-perishable food items are what go the longest way, Labat said — but what the Ministry of Care needs most is more volunteers to help the cause.

“We ask four hours a month from our volunteer workers,” Labat said. “Some work more, some work less. They’re always free to request to work certain days and certain times.

“On a given day, we may see 15 people. Each client gets a 45-minute meeting. Four hours goes by very quickly. We want to help everyone who comes in, but sometimes you just don’t have enough people on the job.”

The St. John Ministry of Care is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays. It is located on 217 W. Fifth St. in LaPlace. For more information on how to volunteer or donate, the Ministry of Care can be reached at 985-652-2729.