The Dwelling Place hosts assisted living residents from Louisiana after Ida

Assisted living residents from Independence, LA find shelter in Brooksville

BROOKSVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Ida is long gone, but the effects linger for the people who called Louisiana home. And while clean-up continues, they still need shelter.

One special care facility from Independence Louisiana found a safe haven in Brooksville.

“The people in this area have just really opened their arms to us and has just been so kind and we’re so grateful,” Tannia Hargrave said.

Tannia Hargrave is the Director of New Beginnings Independent Living in Independence, Louisiana. When Hurricane Ida hit and shut off both power and water, they had to evacuate. But they didn’t know where they were going.

“We packed up with, you know, as little as we could and whatever we could fit and we just started driving and somehow the Mission heard about us and Ms. Joy contacted me and she said they had a place we could come to,” Hargrave said.

Dickie Bryan is the President of the Mission. He said he got the call about Hargrave and her group and began making plans to accommodate them at the Dwelling Place in Brooksville.

“The word I got was a call from an individual that knew us and asked me if we could meet a need and I said we will try to meet that need any way we can. Then I referred them to Joy and Wayne to make the call, that decision,” Bryan said.

In addition to needing shelter, Hargrave needed a place to keep her residents calm.

“All my residents have mental health illness. most of them are paranoid schizophrenics so any kind of change disrupts them. This place has been very peaceful and it’s been a good transition for them,” Hargrave said.

Although the Dwelling place was never meant for long-term stays with more than 20 people, Bryan said he and his team knew that had to make an exception.

“We were the only ones I know of that could do that under the circumstances and it stretched us to do it, but we did it and met those needs. We aren’t designed for that, we’re set up for maybe about 10 or 12. We just put beds where ever we could put them,” Bryan said.

Director Hargrave said she is sending a team back to Louisiana to access damages on their property from Hurricane Ida. If the damages are too extreme for them to go back and stay in their facility, they will be extending their stay here in Mississippi. However, Dwelling Staff said they are more than welcome to stay as long as they need until they can get back on their feet.

“This place has just been amazing. it’s big enough, it houses all of us,” Hargrave said.

“They will stay there as long as they need to stay there,” Bryan said.

For more information on how to donate to Hargrave and the residents, you can send any donations to the Mission in West Point.