Phone Lines Set Up for Texas Families Trying to Locate Harvey Survivors in Louisiana's State Shelters

BATON ROUGE, La. -- The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) has set up a phone bank for Texas families trying to locate loved ones evacuated after Hurricane Harvey to state-run shelters here in Louisiana.

The numbers to call are (225) 615-0086 and (225) 615-0258.

For privacy and safety reasons, DCFS cannot confirm the identities of people staying in its shelters. However, people can call the reunification lines and provide the name, address and date of birth, if known, of the person they are trying to locate, as well as the caller's own name and contact information. DCFS will then determine whether the person is in a state shelter and, if so, pass along the caller's message.

Both state shelters - the Alexandria mega-shelter and the Jewella shelter in Shreveport - have cellphones and charging stations available for Harvey survivors to use for calling family and friends.

Survivors who would like to let their family members and friends know they are safe and well are also encouraged to register at www.safeandwell.org, a website set up by the American Red Cross. People searching for loved ones in the disaster area can use the same website to try to locate missing friends or family members in the affected area.

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