Program supporting East Baton Rouge students and teachers up for renewal

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - As a mom, Erin Pourciau-Bradford knows how challenging it can be to keep children on the right path.

“That’s what people want to know, if something’s not right, how do I recognize that then what do I do with that, and how do I help this child, what resources are out there to help this child,” explained Pourciau-Bradford.

One resource is iCare. As the director, Pourciau-Bradford makes sure K-12 students and teachers at public, private, and charter schools throughout the parish have the support they need. They cover everything from substance abuse prevention, social-emotional coping strategies, and, their most needed, crisis intervention.

“We’re there for our teachers, the staff, our students when there is something happening in the community that’s affected the school,” said Pourciau-Bradford.

They’re hoping to continue providing these services for another decade through their property tax renewal. The renewal would roughly generate $3 million for the services. Pourciau-Bradford said it’s their only funding source and their lifeline.

“The program would not exist,” admitted Pourciau-Bradford. “It would totally affect us if we could not be there. We have specialists at every school, so every child is affected by the programs.”

Programs Pourciau-Bradford believes is needed now more than ever.

“With substance use on the rise, and abuse on the rise, and with violence on the rise, this is not really the time where we could dismantle organizations like us,” said Pourciau-Bradford.

Early voting wraps up Saturday. Election day is May 3.

Click here to report a typo. Please include the headline.

Click here to subscribe to our WAFB 9 News daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.