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The US, among industrial nations, has the largest number of homeless women and the highest number on record since the Great Depression. An estimated 50% of all homeless people are women. A Maurice woman, after seeing a documentary several years ago about what homeless women struggle with, decided to put one foot forward in the fight to help these women. Jenni Painter gives herself a yearly goal; this year being a goal of 25 bags full of products by Christmas. This is Painter’s fourth year in doing a supply drive to support homeless women.
“Three years ago my sister Kristin Robinson, Louis Mayeux and I started giving out bags to homeless women that we had put together as we approached the holidays,” Painter said, “With the help of our friends and family, we are able to put smiles on their faces.” After the loss of Mayeux, who passed away shortly after the first drive, the duo continued to help homeless women with this amazing act of kindness, in his memory.
She remembers her friend Louis who would walk up to homeless women and offer them love, just like that.
Painter knows that there are different reasons of homelessness in women, some being domestic violence or assaults, in fact, 57% of homeless women cite assaults and domestic violence as the direct cause of they homelessness. These brave women decided that homelessness was a chance for them to try and start over and was easier than the abuse, but it is hard being a homeless woman.
Nearly 50% of homeless women experience a major depressive episode after becoming homeless and they have three times the normal rate of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and have drug and alcohol dependencies. Their death rates also rise, sometimes returning to their abusers because they cannot find long-term housing, this can be fatal.
Painter, hoping to leave a footprint in this world and show her children that lots can be done to make people smile, is hoping to spread the word to the world so that more women can be able to just have a bag of basic necessities to get them by. “We now have joined forces with Sandra Cambre, who will be passing the bags out,” Painter said, “She and her family give time every Sunday to feed the homeless, so this is a perfect opportunity for us to join together and spread the love this holiday season.”
She asks that those who find it in their hearts, to please send all of their old bags and purses for the homeless women drive. “We do also need money so we can get more supplies, or, you can send or drop off supplies.”
Supplies needed for the homeless women drive are
Femine products
Toothpaste
Toothbrush
Hair brush
Socks
Blankets
Razors
Midol, ibuprofen or tylenol,
Soap,
Shampoo
Conditioner

Uncertainty, struggle and stigma are just some of the threads that knit together the shared experiences of the homeless community, but for women who are homeless, there are several unique challenges only they know: What it's like to have a period without access to supplies. What it's like to monitor your behavior due to fear of sexual assault. What it's like to be pregnant and not have the services you desperately need. Although so many of us think homelessness is rare, living without access to stable housing is much more common than one may think.
In an article by Katie Dupere on mashable.com, she states that for homeless women, coping with menstruation is a monthly challenge — and often a nightmare. The majority of shelters aren’t allocated governmental funds to put toward period products, and pads and tampons often rank low on the financial list of priorities for homeless women.
Anyone with a period knows products are costly, with a box of tampon or pads costing around $5 to $10, plus tax. Even in public restrooms, a pad or tampon, which can be used for around 8 hours at most, will set you back at least 25 cents. Over the course of a week-long cycle, that money adds up — and fast. Many homeless women say the cost is unmanageable, often using ripped pieces of cloth or toilet paper instead of sanitary napkins or tampons, risking infection.What you can do: There are several regional organizations dedicated to broadening access to period products for homeless women, with Distributing Dignity one of the most wide-reaching efforts. To make a local impact, reach out to local homeless shelters to donate period products to women in your local community.
For Painter, she is relying on the kindness of others to help her community and as many homeless women as she can. There have been many donations over the years, but Painter’s gratitude never stops. “I love helping these women, and I hope you do too. This is just a small way we could impact their daily life in a good way, lets make them smile this holiday season.”
To help, you can find Jenni Painter on social media, or email her at Jenniferlee4100@gmail.com.

In order for the No. 2 VC Eagles to play for the school’s third state title, they have to beat a team that has won six state titles, including last year’s Division IV state title.
No. 3 Ouachita Christian Eagles (8-1) travels to Abbeville to battle the No. 2 Eagles in the semifinal game. The winner heads to the Division IV state finals. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m.
While VC may be the higher seed, Ouachita Christian will be a tough opponent because of their talent.
As a team, the OC Eagles average 226 yards on the ground and 144 in the air.
Running the offense for Ouachita Christian is quarterback Hunter Herring, who committed to the UL Cajuns.
Herring is the complete package, which is why the state sportswriter named him the Class 1A State MVP last year.
He is putting up the same type of numbers as last year.
His 6-foot-5, 210-pound frame makes it easy for him to see over his 6-foot-1, 224-pound average offensive line.
Herring has thrown for 975 yards on the year and completed more than 50 percent of his passes (70 out of 135 passes, 7 TDs) in nine games.
He comes into the game, averaging just over 130 yards a game rushing. He has rushed for more than 200 yards in a game twice this year. He scored 22 TDs, including two games that he scored a total of 11 touchdowns.
“You watch him (Herring) on film, and his intensity and running style jumps out at you,” said VC head coach Broc Prejean. “He is 6-foot-5 and runs with the pad level of a 5 foot, 10-inch bowling ball. He is always looking to initiate contact and does a good job going north to south as a runner.”
Ouachita head coach Steven Fitzhugh said Herring is not their entire offense.
“We have multiple weapons,” Fitzhugh said.
When Herring is not running with the pigskin, then tailback Dillon Dougan (5-11, 220) may be. Dougan has rushed for 745 yards on 114 carries this season.
Ouachita’s leading receiver is 6-foot, 3 inches tall Tristan Wiley. He has 30 catches for 549 yards.
On offense, Ouachita is blessed with athletes at skilled positions. But the position that goes unnoticed by the fans is Ouachita Christian’s offensive line. The O-Line is 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, 5-11 and 5-11. One of OC Eagles’ lineman is 6-3 and weighs 265 pounds.
“We have a lot of size upfront,” said Fitzhugh. “Last year, most of our linemen were only sophomores, so they have playoff experience.”
Ouachita Christian’s offensive line caught the attention of Prejean.
“I think the offensive line is where the game has the potential to be won or lost,” added Prejean. “They want to run it, and their offensive line has a ton of pride in how they conduct their business. We have a tough night ahead of us going against those guys. We know our guys are going to relish the opportunity to battle with an opponent we have a ton of respect for.”
The winner of tonight’s game plays No. 1 Calvary Baptist./No, 5 Southern Lab winner in the state finals.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday at 2:00 PM, December 14, 2020, at St. Edmond Catholic Church in Lafayette for Mr. Frank Louis Boudreaux, Jr., 80, who died on Monday, December 7, 2020 at Lafayette General Medical Center.
Entombment will be in the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist Mausoleum, Lafayette, Louisiana.
Raymond Hebert and Karen Broussard, organist, will sing for the Funeral Mass “On Eagles’ Wings”, “Psalm 27”, “Ave Maria”, “One Bread, One Body” and “Be Not Afraid”.
Reverend Gilbert J. Dutel, will serve as Celebrant of the Mass and conduct the funeral services. Lectors will be Jessica Boudreaux and Courtney Taylor and the Giftbearers will be Stephanie Montesano and Abigail Boudreaux. The Eucharistic Minister will be Amanda Montesano.
For family members and friends who are unable to attend on Monday, December 14, 2020 at 2:00 PM, the service will be live-streamed to a Memorial Facebook Group dedicated to Frank Louis Boudreaux, Jr. To join the group, click the link below and then “join group”. The video will appear on this group at service time 2:00 PM. You may also share memories, pictures and condolences to the family in this group.
Facebook link: www.facebook.com/groups/Franklboudreauxjr/
Survivors include his wife of sixty years, Celeste Hebert Boudreaux; his children, Brett Boudreaux and his wife, Judy, Jennifer Galvez and her husband, Gary, Stacy Montesano and her husband, Bruce, and Scott Boudreaux and his wife, Bronwyn; ten grandchildren, Jessica Boudreaux, Hank Boudreaux, Courtney Taylor and her husband, Cody, Chris Galvez and his wife, Chamaine, Amanda Montesano and her fiance’, Ethan Davidson, Stephanie Montesano, Matthew Montesano, Michael Boudreaux, Bradley Boudreaux and Abigail Boudreaux; four great grandchildren, Christian Galvez, Rhett Taylor, Brantley Taylor and William Taylor; and two brothers, Alfred “Fofiet” Boudreaux and his wife, Darleen, and Guy Boudreaux.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Frank Louis Boudreaux, Sr. and Leyon Hebert Boudreaux; and one sister-in-law, Cheryl Theriot Boudreaux.
Frank was a native of Abbeville and resident of Lafayette, Louisiana for most of his life. During his younger years he excelled in the sport of baseball and played in both little league and Babe Ruth leagues as a pitcher. He made the All Star teams in both leagues. He was on the Speech and Debate team for Mount Carmel in Abbeville and excelled in Extemporaneous Speaking, winning numerous awards and medals. He graduated from Abbeville High School in 1957. At the age of 17 he began his career as a Dispatcher for Milwhite Mud Sales. He continued to work in the oil and gas industry for 45 years and retired in 2002 as President of Newpark Environmental Services. Several years later he was asked to enter the oilfield once again. This time as President of Turbo-Chem International. While he took great pride in his work the thing he loved the most was his family so he decided to retire one last time. He looked forward to being able to spend more time with them because that’s when he was the happiest. His grandchildren and great grandchildren were the light of his life. They were involved in numerous activities and Frank and his wife could always be found in attendance. He lived for those moments.
Frank was a past member and trustee of the St. Edmond’s Parish Council and was instrumental in the building of the new church. He taught CCD classes and was also a Eucharistic Minister. Frank proudly made his Cursillo in the early eighties.
Frank was an avid golfer and was a member and past board member of Oakbourne Country Club of Lafayette. He shared his love of golf with his sons and grandsons and enjoyed playing with them every chance he got.
Frank had a strong faith in God, he led by example and lived with the belief that if you put God first everything will be okay. Frank and his wife prayed the rosary daily together, watched the daily mass on TV and read in the bible. Each of his family members were asked to write 10 things they loved or admired most about Frank and his wife for an anniversary book they recently presented them with. The common threads from all 24 of them were that God and prayer were a part of his everyday life, he loved them unconditionally and that he was undoubtedly their biggest fan, which are all testaments to the kind of person he was. Frank truly cared about people and will be remembered for his love of God and family, his generosity, his huge heart, his compassion for others, and his humor, which he maintained until the very end.
Pallbearers will be Hank Boudreaux, Chris Galvez, Christian Galvez, Matthew Montesano, Michael Boudreaux and Bradley Boudreaux.
Honorary Pallbearers will be Alfred “Fofiet” Boudreaux, Guy Boudreaux, Lefty Lafferty, Joe Dupuis, Tony Toniette and Jimmy Gooch.
The family requests that visitation be observed in Martin & Castille’s DOWNTOWN location on Sunday from 4:00 PM until 7:00 PM and from 11:00 AM Monday until time of service.
A Rosary will be prayed Sunday at 6:30 PM in Martin & Castille Funeral Home by his daughter, Stacy Montesano, followed by his grandson, Michael Scott Boudreaux playing “Amazing Grace” on guitar.
Memorial contributions can be made in Mr. Frank Louis Boudreaux, Jr.’s name to St. Edmond Catholic Church or St. Vincent de Paul Society, 4131 West Congress Street, Lafayette, Louisiana, 70506.
A heartfelt appreciation is extended by the Boudreaux family to Dr. Dwayne Brown and Sarah Breaux Darouse, NP and to Tiffanie Lewis with Agnes’s Loving Care for the wonderful care and compassion given to Mr. Boudreaux.
View the obituary and guestbook online at www.mourning.com
Martin & Castille-DOWNTOWN-330 St. Landry St., Lafayette, LA 70506, 337-234-2311.

BY Neal McClelland
Special to The Meridional

Vermilion Catholic senior Josh Sagrera is many things, offensive star, defensive star, legacy, a key cog in the Eagles’ football machine but perhaps most importantly, according to head coach Broc Prejean, he’s a “DUDE”.
Now while Sagrera may not be to the level of dudeness that Jeff Bridges character Jeff Lebowski made famous in the 1998 classic movie “The Big Lebowski,” he’s still a DUDE to Prejean.
“He is a DUDE!” Prejean said of Sagrera. “His teammates have the utmost respect for him as a competitor and a person.
“He will lay every ounce of himself on the line for his team. He represent the best qualities of our team, hard-nosed, passionate and tough.”
Not an easy praise to live up to but Sagrera shows it almost all day.
“He shows up every day and just goes to work,” Prejean said. “He is reliable, which as a coach is possibly the greatest quality a player can possess. He’s been playing running back and linebacker and I’ve been waiting for him all year to look at me and say he’s tired, but I think I’d have better luck finding water in the desert.”
Sagrera is one of those players that you have to drag off the field and even then he just might fight you, kicking and screaming all the way.
“There are kids that you tell to run 10 sprints and you turn around an they’ve run 15,” Prejean said. “That’s Josh.”
Sagrera is a third generation Eagle. His dad, Craig, was a 1991 graduate who was a running back and defensive back and his grandfather, Wayne, played defensive end, tight end and punter from 1957-60 when the school was still Mt. Carmel.
In fact, school and family means so much to Sagrera that instead of a class ring, he received the pewter football from Wayne’s letterman’s jacket that he put on a chain which hangs from his rear view mirror.
The VC senior takes it all in stride as the Eagles play host to Ouachita Christian in the Division IV semifinals Friday night, with the winner heading to the LHSAA State Championship which will be held at Turpin Stadium on the campus of Northwestern State University after Christmas.
On the year, Sagrera has carried the pigskin 47 times for 284 yards and four touchdowns. He averages 6 yards a carry.
“It feels nice to be back in the semis,” Sagrera said. “Last year I feel that we were cut short and we all felt like we wanted to go further. Obviously the big goal is to get to state but I’m very happy where we are right now.”
The two-way player said that he’s happy with what he’s been able to do this year both on offense and defense, but unlike most starting running back who watch the stats and the ball every time, Sagrera is content to play his role for the Eagles.
“I would love to get the ball every down, but in the end, if we have one more point than the other team and we’ve won the game, that’s the most important thing,” Sagrera said.
As for Friday night, Sagrera is happy to be home for the semifinals.
“I remember my freshman year how hard it was to drive four hours then get out and try to stretch and warm up; so I know that being home they are going to have to make that drive and try to warm up from that long drive,” he said. “I think that it will be a good advantage for us.”
The VC senior also wants to experience one other thing before graduation, he wants to be in the state championship game, something that the Eagles haven’t done since 2013.
And while ideally Sagrera would like to rush for 250 yards and four touchdowns against Ouachita Christian, he’ll be more than contest to take the win and move onto the finals as long as he’s part of the team.
“We were in the semis two years, the quarters last year, so to make the finals would be a dream come true,” Sagrera said. “The dream would be to win the state championship. The stats don’t matter to me. To win with these guys that I’ve played with all my life would be the greatest way to go out.”