Homeless seek relief from freezing temperatures as Houma Municipal Auditorium becomes shelter

As temperatures dropped, about 15 people grabbed warm meals and mattresses. They were homeless, but for the night, they had shelter.

Terrebonne Parish Housing and Human Services teamed up with Start Corporation and the Terrebonne Churches United Food Bank to provide shelter from the elements during the freezing temperatures this week. The Houma Municipal Auditorium was open Monday and Tuesday for the homeless or those lacking warmth. They received warm meals, a mattress, a pillow and blankets.

Shana and her 18-year-old daughter, Shanana Kelley, were going to be stuck on the street for the night. She was worried because temperatures were going to dip below freezing.

"We didn't believe it, like we saw the number on the internet… when we called, they came and got us," Shana said. Without the help, she said, "We'd probably be on the streets in the cold."

Shana Kelley is the owner of Kelley's Café, a food truck in Alexandria. The two have spent two years living in her 2007 Cadillac Coupe DeVille. She's now stuck in Houma after she gave a friend a ride to Napoleonville on, Jan. 12, and was stopped by police for a faulty light. She lacked car insurance, and the car was towed to Belle Rose Paint and Body -- a three-hour drive away.

The two stayed in a storage unit for the weekend until they were caught. Shanana saw the shelter on Facebook, and Shana said the Council on Aging transported them to the Houma Municipal Auditorium with no questions asked Monday.

Shana had to appear in court Wednesday morning for a previous warrant in the area and said she wasn't sure what was going to happen to her daughter if she was put in jail. About an hour later, two family members had sent Shana some money to help her out. She said the two would sort everything out in the morning.

Nearby, gospel music played from a table, and three people sat around it: Charlene Shelby, Steven Duplantis, and another man who asked not to be named. They ate gumbo, potato salad, a biscuit and a piece of king cake. A styrofoam cup sat in the middle of the table, cut out so that it worked as a stand for the phone. They were watching Rance Allen sing "Something About the Name of Jesus" on Youtube as they ate.

Shelby, 62, is from Raceland and said she struggled with alcoholism for years. She has a pacemaker, and when she felt pains in her chest she went to Terrebonne General Health System to get her heart checked out. After receiving treatment she felt fine, but said she couldn't remember the number to call a friend she was staying with in Raceland. She was given a ride to the shelter on Monday and was staying there again Tuesday night.

She said she was very appreciative of the help.

"Whoever can't get no help right now, it's because they don't want it," she said.

According to the Houma Police Department's Capt. Bobby O'Brien, officers were checking areas they knew were frequented by the homeless, such as warehouses, tent encampments and other areas, to encourage people to go to the shelter during the cold snaps. Some took rides to the shelter, others declined.

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Across from Shelby sat Duplantis, who said he was homeless by choice. He said he liked the freedom it provided and described it as making him feel closer to Jesus, and he even cited scripture. He said many people go through life pretending to be something else, wearing fancy clothes and putting on fake personas. Living and sleeping on the street, he said, means he never has to be anything but himself.

"Some people like to put on a persona," he said "Just be who you are, don't put on a suit and tie."

At the other side of the building, scrappy dogs could be heard barking at police officers who walked by.

Elizabeth Faucheaux said she has been living with her boyfriend and seven dogs in a car for the past month after her landlady asked them to leave. The two live on disability, and she said she cannot afford the rent and a deposit. The lowest rent she has found so far is $800, and an $800 deposit, and it's simply too much.

She said she has schizophrenia, but doesn't have episodes. Her psychiatrist comes to her each month and gives her an injection of medicine that lasts the entire month. The two can afford food for themselves and the pets, as well as her medicine, but she said she didn't want to have to keep staying in parking lots each night.

Asked if she was going to be OK, Faucheaux responded:

"I've got a boyfriend, I've got my animals - the animals mean everything to me," she said "They the ones that keep me happy (she paused) and sane."

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Homeless given refuge from freezing temperatures in Terrebonne Parish