The Need

Violence

In 2018 Baton Rouge was the nation’s fifth deadliest city. 87 people were murdered. That’s 35 per 100,000 people (7x the national average of 5!)

287 incidences of violence in EBRP schools were reported in the 2018-2019 school year, rising from 158 the previous year.

Juvenile gun-related admissions into the EBR Department of Juvenile Services rose from 43 in 2017-2018 to 70 in 2018-2019.

Poverty

LA has the 3rd highest poverty rate in the nation. In 2018, 18.6% of residents lived below the poverty line (national average = 11.8%).

More than one quarter of Louisiana’s children live in poverty.

70805 and 70802 zip codes have poverty rates and rates of single-parent households that are two-to-three times higher than state and national rates

Foster Care

During 2018, 7,483 children were served through foster care because of child abuse and/or neglect with an average of 4,731 served each month.

Approximately 70% of youth in residential placement had some type of past traumatic experience, with 30% having had frequent experiences and/or injuries from physical and/or sexual abuse.

Housing

The catastrophic flood in 2016 damaged or destroyed 90% of homes in the Baton Rouge area. Thousands were left homeless and many housing providers’ facilities were flooded. The price of available housing increased substantially.

In the 2018 HUD Point-In-Time Survey, 3059 people were homeless in LA (2,540 individual adults, 245 individual youth, and 519 people in families.)

We anticipated the flood barrier for our clients, but we could not have predicted the long-term effects.

Human Trafficking

Baton Rouge is 1 of 3 cities in LA with the most trafficking victims.

In 2019, 543 minor sex trafficking victims (prospective or confirmed) were identified in Louisiana. 106 were ages 12 and under, with the youngest being 2 months old.  Some providers did not report data, so the total cases are likely underreported.

Groups vulnerable to human trafficking include youth with foster care involvement, homeless and runaway youth, and youth and adults experiencing housing instability.

Our Strategy

Empower youth and families to escape the cycle of poverty and violence by connecting them to supportive services and developing them in these five areas:

Educational Support

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Life Skills Training

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Career Preparedness

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Housing

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Mentorship

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Our Financials

For information on our revenue & expenses, click the link below.

FINANCIALS

Click Here for the  IRS Form 990 & Additional Information from Guidestar.

Our Partnerships

Partnerships enable us to support and expand the services provided to empower youth. We appreciate all of our partners!

Community

  • HEALING PLACE CHURCH

  • THREE O’CLOCK PROJECT

  • JUNIOR LEAGUE OF BATION ROUGE

  • CAPITAL AREA ALLIANCE FOR HOMELESS (ONE STOP)

  • BRCC JAG PROGRAM

  • SETPOINT

  • FAMILY YOUTH SERVICES CENTER (FYSC)

  • BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF LA

  • CAPITAL CITY ROTARY

  •  CAPITAL AREA HUMAN SERVICES

  • LA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION – ADULT EDUCATION

  • DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE

  • CITY OF BATON ROUGE

  • LA ALLIANCE OF CHILDREN’S ADVOCACY CENTERS

  • HOPE MINISTRIES

  • MAGELLAN HEALTH

Business

  • LA DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES

  • DEPT OF JUVENILE SERVICES

  • HUEY & ANGELINA WILSON FOUNDATION

  • US DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

  • US DEPT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

  • LA BALANCE OF STATE CONTINUUM OF CARE (LA BOSCOC)

  • US DEPT OF JUSTICE

  • LA ADVOCACY CORPS: AMERICORP VISTA

  • LA STATE UNIVERSITY – SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK

  • SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY – DEPT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SCIENCES

  • EMPLOY BR

Our Board Members

  • Johnny Green

    President, Pastor-Healing Place Church

  • Susan Rogers

    Executive Director – Empower 225

  • Greyson Augustus

    Member, Brooks Brothers – Manager

  • Suzanne Rouvalis

    Member, ExxonMobil – Retired

  • Guy Oliver

    Member, GW Oliver Construction – Owner

  • JR Crain

    Member, Autumn Grace – Owner & Medtronic – KA Manager

  • Mark Berger

    Member, LA Nursing Home Assoc. – Executive Director

  • Micheal Scott Enos

    Member, Magnolia Wealth Strategies – Financial Advisor

  • Laura Patterson

    Member, Foster Care / Adoption Advocate

  • Arianne Bellizaire

    Member, Arianne Bellizaire Interiors – Owner