LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) -The efforts by United Way of Southwest Louisiana continues as they help locals who lost water, furniture and even their homes to the weather events that have plagued Southwest Louisiana in the last year.   Hundreds of cars lined up and waited for hours to receive free groceries donated and to the local nonprofit. “It’s beautiful they’ve done a great fantastic job for those that don’t have …since the snowstorm and all the hurricanes,” said resident Michael Narcisse.

Like most, who patiently waited for their share of donations, Narcisse is grateful the community has come together to help those in need.

A woman from the Iowa area, Sherri Moreau, said the “comradery of the people and the togetherness” are what make Southwest Louisiana different.

Moreau’s sister, Darlene Harris, said she’s uplifted by the support of the community, “it’s a blessing what everybody’s doing.”

Many who showed up to the drive Tuesday afternoon have gone through a lot in the past through months. One resident’s home suffered damage as early as last week. Glenda Broussard said a pipe had burst in her bedroom due to the freeze. “It means a lot. It shows that us people in Louisiana, we stick together,” said Broussard.  Broussard said she knows the hardships her community is faced with is only temporary, “this too shall pass.”

Many said the outpouring of positivity is overwhelming considering all the devastation Southwest Louisiana has experienced.

“I think it’s just our culture, you know, we – we’re a community that we know we take care of our own and we do whatever we need to do to help everybody through whatever challenge that they’re dealing with,” said Denise Durel with United Way of Southwest Louisiana.  Durel said she’s excited that their outreach will soon go beyond food, “we’re very fortunate that we received a very large contribution of furniture and home goods from a national retailer and so far we’ve received two 18-wheeler loads and we got, I think 9 more coming in.”

All the donated furniture will be given away free to community members most in need. Durel said the United Way is still “looking for volunteers to put the furniture together, get it unwrapped and get it set up.”

Picking up furniture will be by appointment only. If you are interested in applying for the furniture giveaway, you must fill a form and meet the income requirements. Durel said in order to be considered, you must attach all the necessary tax information, but if you run into any problems, she said to call the United Way of Southwest Louisiana for assistance.

To fill out an application for Furniture for Families giveaway, CLICK HERE.

This is the link to the news story Furniture giveaway: United Way of Southwest Louisiana extends relief efforts (kplctv.com).

This link https://unitedwayswla.org/furnitureapp will take you directly to the application.