Phone Line Set Up for Families Trying to Locate Laura Survivors in State-Provided Hotel Rooms

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is launching “Connect,” a way for families to locate loved ones who evacuated from Hurricane Laura to state-provided hotel rooms.

The number to call is 225-342-2727. Alternatively, families can fill out a form online to reach out to loved ones who may be in state non-congregate shelters. That form is found at http://www.dcfs.louisiana.gov/form/dcfs-connect.

For privacy and safety reasons, DCFS cannot confirm the identities of people staying in its non-congregate shelters, or hotel rooms. However, people can fill out the online form or call the Connect line 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 one of the state’s non-congregate shelters and, if so, pass along the caller’s message.

Survivors who would like to let their family members and friends know they are safe and well are also encouraged to register at https://safeandwell.communityos.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.