Lake Providence, Louisiana

• The home of four prisons, which constitute a major component in the Lake Providence's economy.
• The county seat of East Carroll Parish, which has a 22% unemployment rate (February 2004), the highest in Louisiana. In the 2000 census, it was reported that the county is racially mixed (African American, 67.3%; White, 31.6%). African American per capita income is $6,140; white per capita income is $17,264.
• The census also revealed that 40.5% of residents in East Carroll Parish are in poverty. Median household income is $20,723; in comparison, the Louisiana state figure is $32,566.

Lake Providence is located in the Northeast corner of Louisiana, near Arkansas and Mississippi. The town features a six-mile-long lake lined with cypress trees. It is an agricultural area, with farms raising corn, soy beans, cotton, catfish, and sweet potatoes.

Sister Karen Flaherty, a member of the Leadership Conference of Religious Women, a group committed to working as change agents for a just world order, coordinates the Family-to-Family program in Lake Providence.

Families in California, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia send contributions to families in Lake Providence. Family-to-Family cartons are sent to Barker Hall, a community center in a local Catholic Church, and families, for the most part, come and pick up their monthly shipments.