JENNINGS - Jeff Davis Community Against Domestic Abuse (CADA) has a new executive director.
Former board member Janice Esthay of Lake Arthur, stepped into her new roll as executive director last week.
Esthay, who has served on the CADA board for three years, replaces former director who was fired earlier this year after being arrested on felony theft charges.
The former director and another employee are accused of using more than $2,000 in CADA funds to pay for personal expenses.
“We need to get things moving forward again and operating back in the green again,” Esthay said. “We have to overcome the past problems and get focused again and make sure were are very diligent in how we spend our money.”
Board members will now be more involved in CADA’s responsibilities and monitor the operations to ensure that this does not happen again, Esthay said.
Esthay said her 34 years of experience as an administrative assistant for ExxonMobil in the Lake Arthur and Gueydan area will help move CADA forward.
Esthay has also served 19 years on the Jeff Davis Parish Library Board, 15 years as its president.
She will continue to serve on the Library Board.
She also recently became a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer.
CADA, which has been in existence for 16 years, provides shelter and other services including counseling to both female and male victims of domestic abuse.
“It’s great having a CADA house here in Jeff Davis Parish to help so many victims of domestic abuse,” Esthay said.
This past year it housed 37 women and 20 children and offered assistance to 295 victims including protective service, counseling services and legal aid. It also handled 277 phone calls through its 1-800 crisis line. Services are offered to anyone in need, she said.
“We have taken in people from Alexandria, Lafayette and even had one from Arkansas,” Esthay said. “If we don’t have a bed here we can work with other shelters to find them a place.”
Jeff Davis Parish, like most parishes, is not immune to domestic abuse problems, she said.
“Every parish has an abuse problem,” she said. “We’re open to help any victim, not just those from Jeff Davis Parish.”
The local shelter can only house eight victims at a time.
“When we have an overflow we have other areas we can call to share our overflow,” she said.
Esthay said one of her goals is to keep the local victim’s shelter open.
“When all the problems happened there was talk about Lake Charles taking over the CADA house,” Esthay said. “If we didn’t have the CADA house that would be eight less beds that we would have.”
CADA relies on grants, donations and fundraisers to support the shelter and its program. It receives financial support from local individuals, law enforcement, businesses and churches.
Esthay has already been researching grants and other funding sources to see what is available.
She is seeking a grant to provide a children’s playground for the shelter.
Plans for a new victim’s shelter in Jennings are still a goal of CADA, but is not financially feasible at this time, Esthay said. The property was donated to CADA by the Zigler Foundation in 2011.
A fashion fundraiser with a pop-up boutique featuring women’s clothing from LuLARoe will be 4:30-6:30 today, Aug. 31 at the First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, 702 Cary Ave. in Jennings. A percentage of the proceeds will benefit CADA.
Their biggest fundraiser is the annual Taste N Tell event to be held Tuesday, Oct. 11 at the Grand Marais Courtyard in Jennings.
“We have some great chefs who prepare some great good and it’s a fun night of competition against the chefs,” she said.
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