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Lake Providence, Louisiana

The county seat of East Carroll Parish, Lake Providence is a small, impoverished city of roughly 4,000 people with a declining population. It is home to four prisons that make up a large part of the local economy. Located in the northeast corner of Louisiana, near both Arkansas and Mississippi, the town has natural beauty, featuring a six-mile-long lake lined with cypress trees. Area farms raise corn, soy beans, cotton, catfish and sweet potatoes.

Time Magazine once named Lake Providence “The Poorest Place In America,” reporting: “The town has no public parks or swimming pools, no movie theaters, no shopping malls, not even a McDonald’s or a Walmart…. Restless teenagers mill around narrow streets lined with burned-out houses and dilapidated trailer parks… If there is a poorer place in America, the Census Bureau cannot find it.

According to 2017 data:

  • 70% of families with children live below the poverty line.
  • 54% of families have an annual income of less than $15,000.
  • Just over 78% of the population is African-American and almost 20% is white.

Sister Bernie Barrett, a member of the Leadership Conference of Religious Women, which works as a “change agent for a just world order,” coordinates Family-to-Family’s program in Lake Providence. Jong’s Market provides groceries for our sponsored families.

Community Contact:

Sister Bernie Barrett
106 Ingram St.
Lake Providence, Louisiana 71254

Read more about Lake Providence:

  • The most unequal place in America
  • Lake Providence Residents Work to End Cycle of Poverty
  • Sister Bernie and her work with Lake Providence families here.

Data Sources: 2017 U.S. Census American Community Survey; Epodunk.com.; East Carroll Poverty – FedStats.

Yes, I’d like to sponsor a family!

Improvised children on porch in Lake Providence, Louisiana
Families are available for sponsorship in these communities:
  • Brookside, Alabama
  • Los Angeles, California
  • Orlando, Florida
  • Pembroke, Illinois
  • Jenkins, Kentucky
  • Worcester, Massachusetts
  • Burton, Michigan
  • Rich Hill, Missouri
  • Gallup, New Mexico
  • Mamaroneck, New York
  • Ossining, New York
  • San Elizario, Texas
  • Mingo County, West Virginia
These communities are currently fully sponsored:
  • Montrose, Arkansas
  • Beverly, Kentucky
  • Lake Providence, Louisiana
  • Washington County, Maine
  • Boston, Massachusetts
  • Flint, Michigan
  • Whitney, Nevada
  • Jersey City, New Jersey
  • Dobbs Ferry, New York
  • Hastings-on-Hudson, New York
  • Yonkers, New York
  • Bedford-Stuyvesant, New York
  • Staten Island, New York
  • Braddock, Pennsylvania
  • Waco, Texas

How you can help...

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For general information about Family-to-Family, contact: Pam Koner at moreinfo@family-to-family.org
or write to: Family-to-Family, P.O. Box 255, Hastings-On-Hudson, NY 10706

Family-to-Family, Inc. (EIN # 57-1169066) is a non-profit organization exempt under
the 501(c)(3) section of the Internal Revenue code.