Dorothy B. Watson Community Center provides housing aid and emergency rents

The Dorothy B. Watson Community Center is an outlet for the Jefferson Parish Community Action Partnership, or JeffCAP, in Metairie, LA. Dorothy B. Watson Community Center serves as an indispensable part of the Jefferson Parish Community Action Partnership, as it serves as a way for the Partnership to dispense services.

The aim of the JeffCAP is to empower as many individuals and families of Jefferson Parish who are disabled, elderly, young, or economically disadvantaged. To this end, the Dorothy B. Watson Community Center makes many services available to residents of Metairie, LA. The Dorothy B. Watson Community Center provides emergency assistance for rent, utilities, and medical services. The Center distributes food supplies, and offers educational and recreational activities.

One service provided by the Dorothy B. Watson Community Center is housing counseling. Available Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, eligible residents are offered comprehensive housing to tenants and homeowners, information and referrals, and housing financial assistance. Counseling is also available to first time home buyers, persons seeking home maintenance and financial fitness training, and reverse mortgage counseling to seniors.

LIHEAP is also offered through the Dorothy B. Watson Community Center through JeffCAP. LIHEAP, or Low Income Energy Assistance, is provided to eligible households and helps to meet the costs for heating and cooling homes.

Other financial assistance available to residents of Metairie is emergency rent, mortgage, and utility assistance. Alongside the LIHEAP program, low-income families in need may be provided with utility payments, or rent or mortgage payments, with the goal of averting service cut-off or evictions.

A food pantry distribution also operates out of the Dorothy B. Watson Community Center. The pantry distributes food that is donated to the Jefferson Parish Community Action Partnership to meet the needs that low-income households have regarding food.

Dorothy B. Watson Community Center, along with the JeffCAP, also provides a weatherization program. Based upon an energy audit that a household performs, an eligible individual may have assistance in applying energy-efficient improvements such as doors, windows, insulating, and caulking to a household, thus improving energy bills.

Several adult and youth education classes are also available at the Dorothy B. Watson Community Center. These classes normally occur in normal hours of operation for the Center, and have the aim of improving the lives of residents within Metairie, LA.

The Dorothy B. Watson Community Center is located at 1300 S. Myrtle Street in Metairie, LA. The Center hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. For more information, go by the Center, or call 504-736-6480.