SHREVEPORT, LA — It’s carnival season in Louisiana and the revelry has reached all the way to the Providence House as the children of the Providence House Child Development Center threw their third annual Mardi Gras parade. This year, the theme was “Cirque du Soliel” and featured four krewes: Lord of the Rings Krewe, Krewe [...]

Jane* lived with her abuser for approximately 10 years; years of verbal and emotional abuse and, when he was drinking, physical abuse as well. Afterward, he would tell her that he would never mistreat her again, and then the cycle would repeat itself. She finally reached her limit, called the Providence House crisis line and [...]

It is great to have so many community members who support our program at Providence House. Last week, members of the Shreveport Police Department and the Shreveport Fire Marshall visited the Providence House Child Development Center preschool class. They taught the children about fire safety, stranger danger, calling 9-1-1 for emergencies, firearm awareness and seatbelt [...]

Teen Dating: Two words teens love but make parents nervous. There are many questions to be asked before a teenager starts going on dates and many more once that teen is dating. Here are just a few questions teen should ask before going on a date, from Discovery Health: Do you trust the person? Do [...]

Talks of higher education budget cuts are making headlines across the state, while Louisiana ranks 47th in the number of students who graduate from high school. Across the nation, one-third of students will drop out of high school before they graduate and, in Louisiana, one in three will not graduate on time. Therefore, it is [...]

From living on the streets to appearances on the Today Show and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Ted Williams has become a household name almost overnight. Williams is a man who was once a radio announcer. Last week, he was just a panhandler with a homemade sign asking for help and touting his “God-given voice.” [...]

Providence House has been blessed with a great community of support to help break the cycle of homelessness one family at a time. Never is that more evident than during the holiday season. In 2010, we served more than 150 families for the Christmas season. Through the generosity of supporters like you, our mothers, fathers [...]

Courtney Craig is celebrating sobriety after spending half her life in the grip of drugs and alcohol.

Craig, 30, participates in Providence House programs to help women recovering from substance abuse rebuild their lives. She’s studying for her general equivalency diploma and plans to enter college after earning it.

Norma Belton, director of programs and shelter operations at Providence House, said having the opportunity to work with the Renesting volunteers has been a blessing.

“Normally, what we would do is take the furniture and set it up (in the apartment), and then the families would come in and personalize it with flowers, pictures and stuff like that,” she said. “Well, working with the Renesting Project, that’s what they do for the families. They come in and arrange the furniture in the house and decorate it.”

The only thing the family has to do, Belton added, is move their clothing into the home.

Police took her boyfriend to jail, and she went to the Providence House. Now, almost a week later, the bruises have started to fade, but the emotional pain stings more than ever.