The First 72+

Join us at our next Financial Literacy Lunch on Thursday, March 20th from 1pm-2pm at the Ben Smith Welcome Home Center! A conviction can significantly impact a person’s financial standing, making it difficult to secure housing, employment, and loans. However, credit recovery is possible, and this session will provide attendees with actionable steps to rebuild their financial foundation. The Financial Literacy Power Hour: Rebuilding Credit After a Conviction is an engaging and informative lunch-hour session designed to equip justice-impacted individuals with practical strategies to restore and build credit, access financial resources, and create a pathway toward financial independence. Email our Director of Economic Empowerment Patrick Young at [email protected] or call our office at (504) 324-8859 to reserve your spot!

Perfect post-Mardi Gras event? Our annual Fish Fry! Our first Fish Fry of the season is this Friday from 11 am to 3 pm! Reminders: Use our pre-order form to get ahead of the game Free delivery requires 5+ plates, must be ordered 2+ hours in advance, and last delivery is 2:30pm Pay via cash, venmo, or cashapp Bring non-perishable food donations if able Tell your friends! We can’t wait to see you there!

The First 72+ will be closed Monday, 3/3- Wednesday, 3/5 for Mardi Gras. We hope to see you out there and can’t wait to return to Fish Fry season when we return!

Throwback Thursday to last year’s Fish Fry! We are gearing up for our annual Fish Fry starting next Friday, March 7th, and we want to see you there! Use the pre-order form in the link in our bio to get ahead of the game or call 504-324-8859. This year, we will be accepting food donations to provide much needed services to clients experiencing food insecurity. We accept non-perishable food donations (pop-tops preferred)! Our staff (plus our new fryer) can’t wait!

February client highlight! Mr. Carl joined us a month ago as a transitional housing client and is our first client to complete our Life Skills Class. Since joining The First 72+, Carl has received SNAP and Medicaid benefits,? and was accepted to a job at the airport today fresh out of Life Skills! In Life Skills, Carl began to process his past relationships with friends and family, and he was first to budget a grocery list. For the first time, Carl is focusing on himself; “There was a lot of dysfunctional stuff going on in my family, even at 60 years old I got a lot of life to live and I gotta start living it for myself…Right now, I’m doing myself the best favor by just being me and trying to get myself straight.” We are so excited to share Carl’s progress! #ClientHighlight

It’s that time of the year again: The First 72+ annual Fish Fry fundraiser! The fish fry began as a fundraiser to pay for utilities in our transitional house. The tradition has persisted since and it is? now our largest fundraiser of the year. We will be offering plates for $15 each along with some First 72+ merch during the season of lent, starting Friday, March 7th. Scan the QR code or use the link in our bio to access our pre-order form and get ahead of the game or drop by to grab a plate. We are so excited to see you there!

Ronday Dixon was introduced to the First 72+ by his friend, a current service client of ours. Ronday came to us in August as a service client and secured housing with us in November; “since August, I ain’t had a sad day yet”. Ronday is currently working at Thrive and hopes to open his own seafood catering business when he has more economic stability. When asked what his experience was like at The First 72+, Ronday reflected? “Y’all got a beautiful staff, I respect y’all so much it brings tears to my eyes sometimes cause I didn’t think I could get this far”. Thanks to generous community donations, Ronday was able to comfortably furnish his new apartment with a bed, dining room table, and couch. Long term, Ronday is looking forward to giving back; “You can’t do this by yourself. You can make the money but you still gonna have to get somebody to share it with…until we come together as a whole we're going to see better days”. We are so proud of Ronday’s progress!

Two of our staff members were featured in the Super Bowl host committee parade with energy. It was such a pleasure to show everyone who came for the Super Bowl what New Orleans is all about!

On Monday, Governor Jeff Landry pledged to move forward with the execution of people on death row in Louisiana for the first time since 2010. The upcoming executions are to be carried out via suffocation with nitrogen gas, an under researched and tortuous death. Louisiana leads the nation per capita in wrongful death sentences, disproportionately affecting people with intellectual disabilities and people of color. Amongst other leaders, The First 72+ is in opposition to the death penalty and condemns the blatant disregard for life and dignity of this administration. If you are interested in supporting organizations actively fighting the death penalty follow the Promise of Justice Initiative and visit their website to learn more. Help amplify the message by calling Jeff Landry’s office, reposting on socials to spread the word, or share your own video.

Amendment 3 would endanger our kids and communities! THE FACTS ABOUT SENDING KIDS TO ADULT PRISONS? ↓ Adult prisons are dangerous. Kids are more likely to be abused, are 36x more likely to die by suicide, and have a 33% higher risk of mortality by age 39. Amendment 3 would amend our state constitution so that legislators could more easily send kids to adult prisons. Amendment 3 would remove the constitutional protections that keep most kids out of the adult criminal legal system. Sending kids to adult prisons makes it nearly impossible to access the rehabilitative services they need to successfully rejoin their communities. Amendment 3 will further endanger our community by denying our young people the opportunities they need to become healthy, whole members of our communities. ??? ELECTION DAY: Saturday, March 29. Vote NO on 3 to protect Louisiana’s kids. Learn more at NoOn3LA.org #NoOn3 #ProtectLAKids