The CIMA Mental Health Workforce Accelerator Program, funded by the Rapides Foundation and developed with the National Council for Mental Well‑Being, is accepting applications through June 30.
The program supports master‑level mental health professionals seeking licensure and provides:
Licensing exam preparation
Placement opportunities at approved mental health service sites
Support for professionals serving children, adults, and families
Around 2 a.m. Saturday, Natchitoches City Police responded to the 7200 block of the Highway 1 bypass after reports of a large crowd near a local bar creating a traffic hazard.
While officers were on scene, the Natchitoches Regional Medical Center notified police that a gunshot victim had arrived at the hospital with multiple wounds to the lower body.
Investigators determined the victim was shot while at the bar. The individual was later transported to a Caddo Parish hospital in stable condition.
The final pieces of Louisiana’s U.S. Senate race fell into place Saturday night as voters selected the candidates who will advance to the November 3rd general election.
According to official election results (always confirm with trusted sources):
Democratic nominee:Jamie Davis
Republican nominee:U.S. Representative Julia Letlow
The seat is open after Sen. Bill Cassidy was eliminated in the May 16 primary.
Local results: Voters in Fire Protection District No. 10 overwhelmingly approved the 8.7‑mill, 10‑year renewal, ensuring continued funding for fire protection services.
Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival to celebrate “America, the Beautiful”
NATCHITOCHES – The 46th Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival will be held on Saturday July 18, in the air–conditioned Prather Coliseum located at 220 S. Jefferson Street on the Northwestern State University campus in Natchitoches. The festival’s curated showcase of Louisiana folk musicians, food vendors and traditional crafts persons will open at 9 a.m. with live entertainment scheduled for 9:45 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. The family-oriented festival is fully wheelchair accessible. Children 12 and under are admitted free. Tickets are $10 at the door for all events or $6 for an evening pass to all events after 5 p.m.
In honor of the 2026 Festival theme, “America the Beautiful,” the Festival will feature the traditional music of the nation – blues, gospel, Cajun, Celtic, country, bluegrass and zydeco on three stages of music as well as in the Magale Recital Hall. Music and dance headliners include Cajun bands Kevin Naquin and the Ossun Playboys and Poisson Rouge, zydeco band Geno Delafose and French Rockin’ Boogie, blues artists the Wayne “Blue” Burns Band and the Snake Doctors, western swing and classic country artists Gal Holiday and the Honky Revue, the Rising Dragon Lion Dance Team, bluegrass group Catahoula Drive, gospel groups the Amazing! Rhythm Disciples and the Winnsboro Easter Rock Ensemble and dance performances by Native Nations Intertribal, the Rising Dragon Lion Dance Team, the Thistle Dancers and Pipers and Fijian traditional dance by the Rokobou Family. In addition will be a special appearance by Kovanda’s Czech Band which will accompany the Louisiana Czech Heritage Dancers. The festival also includes numerous food vendors offering traditional Louisiana cuisine. Outdoor activities feature demonstrations of traditional blacksmithing, Dutch oven cooking and a child-friendly hands-on demonstration of a 19th century wash day.
More than 80 crafts vendors have been invited to display and discuss their traditional work with festival patrons. Craftspeople are expected to display beadwork, baskets, cowhide chair covers, alligator jewelry, Pysanky eggs, Native American crafts and pottery. Other expected craftspeople will display needlework, wood carvings, handmade toys and dolls, paintings, sculpture, homemade soap, spinning and weaving, handcrafted knives, handmade brooms, walking sticks, folk art quilts and more.
The Festival will include a Gumbo Cook-Off, in which professionals and hobbyists alike can compete in one of the multiple categories and demonstrate their cooking skills in any of three categories, Seafood, Poultry Plus and People’s Choice. All gumbo must be cooked on-site, with no commercial or pre-made roux allowed. Poultry, meat, seafood, rice and broth or stock may be prepared in advance or on-site and canned broth is allowed. Registration and the Cooks’ Meeting will take place at 8:00 a.m. Tasting and judging will begin at 12:30 p.m. with winners announced at 3:15 p.m. There is no fee to compete in the Cook-Off.
The Annual Louisiana State Fiddle Championship will be held at 1:30 p.m. in the Magale Recital Hall. There will be a non-championship class and a championship class. A twin fiddle category will also be held. Registration is at noon in the first-floor foyer outside Magale Recital Hall. The Fiddle Championship winner will perform on the main stage at Prather Coliseum at 5 p.m.
The festival includes several opportunities for patrons to engage directly with Louisiana folk culture. Free dance lessons include clogging or flatfoot dancing with Clancey Stewart, Celtic dance taught by the Thistle Dancers and Pipers and Cajun and zydeco dancing taught by the Cajun French Music Association Dance Troupe. Interactive activities include dancing with the Louisiana Czech Heritage Dancers and Native Nations Intertribal.
“The festival bridges the distance between artists and the festival patrons, thus breaking the artificial barriers between artists and audience,” said Dr. Shane Rasmussen, director of the festival and NSU’s Louisiana Folklife Center. “Rather than watching from the sidelines, everyone who takes part in these activities will share and engage in Louisiana’s rich culture.”
KidFest will be available from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Kidfest is an area dedicated to child-friendly activities and is a fun way for children to examine their own cultural and family traditions as well as those from around the state.
Narrative sessions will be held in the festival N-Club Room from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will feature presentations on the making of the first sinker cypress fiddle, traditional carding, spinning and weaving, Fijian traditional culture, Louisiana foodways and heritage language revitalization. In addition will be music informances on Cajun music with bands Kevin Naquin and the Ossun Playboys and Poisson Rouge. ASL interpretation, assistive listening devices and audio description for these cultural discussions will be made available upon prior request by July 10.
This year also features several pre-Festival events which are free and open to the general public. A Visit with the Bagpipe will be held at 2 p.m. on July 11 at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum at 800 Front Street in Natchitoches. Attendees at this free workshop will learn the basics of traditional Celtic bagpipe and drumming, as well as Highland dance. The workshop will also feature a Celtic music and dance performance by the Thistle Dancers and Pipers. A second free pre-festival event will be a music and dance performance by Native Nations Intertribal at 6 p.m. on July 17 at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Members of Native Nations Intertribal will also engage in a discussion of their traditions with anthropologist Dr. Hiram “Pete” Gregory, an expert on Southeastern Native American tribes and culture.
For a full schedule of events, online registration forms to participate in the Louisiana State Fiddle Championship and the Gumbo Cook-Off or to make a donation contact the Louisiana Folklife Center at (318) 357-4332, email [email protected] or go to www.nsula.edu/folklife/.
Support for the Festival is provided by grants from the Cane River National Heritage Area, Inc., the Louisiana Division of the Arts Decentralized Arts Fund Program, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the Natchitoches Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Natchitoches Historic District Development Commission, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, the Shreveport Regional Arts Council and the State of Louisiana. The views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program will not necessarily represent those of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.
The festival is sponsored by Alliance Compressors, Atmos Energy, C&H Precision Machining, City Bank, Cleco, Evans Family, LLC, the Harrington Law Firm, Natchitoches Wood Preserving Company, Ronnie’s Auto Glass and Collision Center and Young Estate, LLC.
Caption
Musician Geno Delafose will be among those performing at the 46th Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival on Saturday July 18, in the air–conditioned Prather Coliseum located at 220 South Jefferson Street on the Northwestern State University campus in Natchitoches. Photo by Masahiro Sumori.
NATCHITOCHES—The power of family and relationships was on full display during Thursday afternoon’s introductory press conference for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026.
The inductees shared their gratitude and fondness for the state that helped them the people they are today and led them to be enshrined in the state’s athletic hall of fame, the top honors an athlete from Louisiana can receive.
The 10 inductees speaking, as well as former New Orleans Saints legend Joe Horn and LSU women’s basketball great Sylvia Fowles, are being officially enshrined Saturday evening.
Family came up during everybody’s speech, but not everybody works with a family member, which is exactly what John James Marshall does. He co-hosts with his older brother Ben on “SportsTalk with J.J. and Bonzai Ben,” the longest-running sports talk show in the state.
“It’s easy arguing with my brother for an hour,” Marshall, who is being awarded the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism, said. “We grew up doing that. He’s a Red Sox fan and I grew up as a Yankees fan—until (former New York Yankees owner George) Steinbrenner came along. We argued about Yankee-Red Sox things our entire lives.
“If I was talking with (fellow 2026 inductee) Warren Morris, I’d be very careful what I said to Warren Morris. With your brother, you can say anything you want at any time and not worry it is going to offend him. And he does the same to me.”
As an accomplished sportswriter as well, Marshall always has that in him.
“I’ve done a lot of writing, and I’ve done a lot of talking, and now I try to find a way to combine both of those.”
While Marshall works with his brother, former Florien High girls basketball head coach Dewain Strother was able to coach his granddaughters, leading them to a state semifinal appearance in his 39th and final season.
“Who would have ever thought you’d be coaching long enough to coach your grandchildren?,” Strother asked. “I was able to coach my daughter and while I didn’t coach my son, I coached him at home. After my grandchildren were done playing, I knew it was time to go.”
Strother, who has the second-most wins nationally with 1,235 and is the all-time state leader in girls basketball coaching victories, led Florien to six state championships, five runner-up finishes and 21 semifinal appearances.
Legendary Northwestern State coach Mike McConathy had his two sons play for the Demons as he continued the legacy left behind by his father.
While a great player in his own right, ‘Coach Mike’ received words of wisdom from his father, N-Club Hall of Famer Johnny McConathy, at a young age.
After the younger McConathy was a fourth-round NBA Draft pick after a great career playing at Louisiana Tech, he was cutting yards in Bossier City waiting for training camp, and told his father that he bet no other NBA picks were doing that.
He told me, “Son, you can take that draft choice down to the coffee shop and coffee is still 35 cents a cup.”
“He was saying to me that I am who I am and I am no better than anyone else,” said McConathy.
McConathy, through his time at Bossier Parish CC and NSU, is the state’s all-time coaching wins leader (682) for college basketball. He led the Demons to unprecedented heights, notably three NCAA Tournament berths, including two wins, with one coming in an upset of third-seeded Iowa on a corner 3-pointer from Jermaine Wallace.
Like McConathy, former LSU men’s basketball coach John Brady came into a program down on its luck and turned it around in a quick fashion.
In his third season, he guided the Tigers to the Sweet 16, led by Shreveport native Stromile Swift.
During the 2005-06 season, the team had to deal with the adversity of Hurricane Katrina, and it only strengthened an already-strong bond between the team members, as five of the players were from Baton Rouge and two more were from close by.
All they did was knock off No. 1 Duke on their way to the Final Four behind Baton Rouge natives Glen Davis, Tyrus Thomas and Garrett Temple.
“We were displaced after Katrina hit,” Brady said. “We had to practice at different facilities, but because that group was so close, they tried to do something for the state to be proud of and they took them to the Final Four.”
While Jonathan Lucroy is originally from Florida, he made a name for himself in Louisiana to start his career, setting records at UL Lafayette, and eventually became a two-time All-Star in MLB and a gold medalist in the 2017 World Baseball Classic for Team USA.
He looks back at his time at UL with fond memories, making it to the NCAA regionals twice in three seasons with the Ragin’ Cajuns. He credited his late coach for that success and being a cornerstone for him and all the players he encountered at UL.
“Coach Tony Robichaux is a Hall of Famer here,” Lucroy said. “Outside of family, he is probably the most influential man in my life, and most every player he has had says that. It’s a special thing when you have a special coach and he was very impactful in my life. If it wasn’t for playing for him, I never would have made it to the big leagues.”
Like Lucroy, Warren Morris also made it to the big leagues and won a medal with Team USA. The Alexandria native owns an Olympic bronze medal in the 1996 Atlanta Games, a few weeks after the most pivotal swing of his life.
Morris, who will receive the Louisiana Sports Ambassador Award, made his biggest mark for LSU in the bottom of the ninth inning of the 1996 College World Series championship game. He hit a game-winning homer for the Tigers.
He is only the third ever recipient of the Louisiana Sports Ambassador Award, which combines athletic involvement with advocacy of the state.
“As a young man, I never really thought the home run would be something we still talk about 30 years later,” Morris said. “I remember the next day, we were walking through the airport to fly back to Baton Rouge, I remember seeing my picture on the front page of the Omaha paper. I thought ‘That’s awesome that they put me on the front page.’”
For years, there’s been a statue of Morris in Omaha commemorating his historic blast.
While baseball was the first love for Todd McClure, the Baton Rouge native made a name for himself in football for LSU and in the NFL.
After All-America honors with the Tigers, McClure was a 14-year veteran at center for the Atlanta Falcons, blocking for quarterbacks such as Michael Vick and Matt Ryan.
A seventh-round draft pick in 1999, he had an unfortunate beginning to his career, as he tore his ACL during training camp as a rookie, but came back and carved out a sensational career and earning a spot on the Falcons Ring of Honor.
McClure, who loved LSU throughout his life, did not think his dream of being a Tiger would come true.
“Early on, I wasn’t a very physical kid,” McClure said. “I remember my dad getting on me about not wanting to hit anybody or be physical. But one day, it clicked.
“I was a tight end/defensive end in high school,” he said, remembering his move to center at LSU, and a preseason major injury to the starter there. “I was told ‘McClure, you’re in.’ I had a training camp and eight games to get ready for the SEC. At the end of the season, coach (Gerry) Dinardo told me I had a future in the NFL.”
One of the guys McClure blocked in the NFL was Pat Williams, who was a massive defensive tackle for the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings, where he was part of the ‘Williams Wall’ with Kevin Williams.
Williams was key on a defense that was either No. 1 or No. 2 in opposing yards per carry from 2006-08 and in the top 10 every year from 2006-10.
He was impressed when he was awarded 37 game balls throughout his NFL career.
“I got my first one from (Pro Football Hall of Famer) Bruce Smith,” Williams said. “Ted Washington got hurt and I came in and got three sacks.”
Williams’ first taste in playing organized football came after seeing his friends walking down the street with pads and then asking his mom if he could sign up. She said yes, and the rest is history.
Gil LeBreton, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism, grew up in New Orleans and graduated from LSU to become a goliath in the industry. He spent 50 years as a writer and columnist and covered 26 Super Bowls,16 Olympics and 13 World Series.
Even though he spent 37 years at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, his roots remained back home.
“LSU was so important in my life and career,” LeBreton said. “After serving in the Vietnam War, I decided I am going to use the G.I. Bill to get a degree in journalism at LSU. Those years, working for (former LSU SID) Paul Manasseh, working with those people you got to meet. Out of the first 12 recipients of the distinguished service award, I worked with eight of them.”
Kathy Holloway is the recipient of the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award. The Rapides Parish native and resident was the first woman president of the Louisiana High School Coaches Association and a few years later, broke the glass ceiling as leader of the National High School Coaches Association.
She received the news of her selection a bit different from everybody else, at a Christmas Eve program at her church in Pineville.
“(Louisiana Sports Writers Association president John Marcase) is in our church and asked to speak at the service. My son, the pastor, was delighted. John said, ‘Many of you know her as the pastor’s mother’ and asked me to come to the podium. John announced it and I was shocked. It was a really sweet time.”
Before she was the president of the high school coaches association, she was a terrific basketball coach at Tioga High School. But she moved into an administrative role and quickly became prominent statewide in that capacity.
“A lady from Thibodaux saw there was a committee on girls athletics,” she said. “She wanted to know who was on the committee and no one was on it. The LHSCA president appointed me, the woman who wrote the letter and (Jennings coach) Charlotte Creed to serve on that committee. So that was the start of it.”
The Class of 2026 all have different stories, but they all share pride and roots in the state of Louisiana.
“I’ve lived in different places, and I’ve been to other places, but there is no place like this,” Morris said.
NATCHITOCHES – There are plenty of parallels between Mike McConathy and Dewain Strother, two members of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026.
In addition to being classmates in the state’s athletic shrine, the pair are record-breaking basketball coaches who own Louisiana records when it comes to coaching victories, they are both deeply tied to Northwestern State and they would much rather give credit to others – especially family members — than to speak glowingly about themselves.
That trio of bullet points came together Thursday afternoon as the pair joined eight other members of the Hall’s Class of 2026 at the introductory press conference presented by LaCapitol Federal Credit Union. McConathy, Strother and the rest of the class will be inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame at 7 p.m. Saturday in a ceremony at the Natchitoches Events Center.
“When you live in Natchitoches for 23 years, you know about the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, and you hear about all of the players who came through,” McConathy said. “You hear about how important God was in their lives and how they speak boldly about God. This is overwhelming and very humbling – just special.”
What McConathy built at Northwestern was special for several reasons – the least may have been the 330 of his Louisiana state college basketball-record 682 victories that he accumulated as the Demons’ head coach.
McConathy’s remarkable 23-year tenure at Northwestern was in many ways a tribute to his father, a former Northwestern star and eventual NBA Draft pick.
A multi-sport athlete growing up in Bossier City, McConathy recalled seeing his father play during a church men’s league game and the impact it delivered.
“He never talked about himself,” McConathy said of John McConathy, who was drafted fifth overall by the Syracuse Nationals in the 1951 NBA Draft. “He walked in to see the coach (at Northwestern) and said, ‘I’d like to try to play basketball.’ The coach said, ‘You don’t look like a player.’ Those are the things that I got from him – that drive to be the best you can with what God has blessed you with. He didn’t say a whole lot.
“He was a basketball player and a coach. He won a state title in 1960. He was 35 years old playing in a church league. He went down the baseline and he got up off the ground – like one of my players used to say, ‘He had air under his feet.’ I said, ‘This guy could play,’ and I wanted to be the best player possible because of what I saw him doing.”
The baseline drive that launched a Louisiana Tech Hall of Fame playing career and a 43-year coaching tenure had a lasting impact on generations to come.
While McConathy’s Northwestern teams captured three Southland Conference Tournament championships and the program’s first three NCAA Tournament appearances – including the Demons of Destiny’s 2006 upset of third-seeded Iowa – his team’s biggest victories came off of the court as 90 percent of his players graduated with their four-year degrees.
“I was in junior college (coaching) for 16 years,” McConathy said. “Everybody had to graduate to go where they wanted to be. That’s what we were supposed to do – graduate them. When we got here, it was what we were used to doing. I wanted to make sure our guys graduate – that way they’ve used the game and the game hasn’t used them.”
Much like McConathy built the Bossier Parish Community College men’s basketball program from scratch, Strother turned Florien High School into a state and regional power.
Six state championships and 1,235 victories – the second-highest total nationally in girls high school basketball and a Louisiana record – highlighted his 40-year head coaching career.
The other numbers – nine Division I players, five state Class B Coach of the Year awards and 49 years in education – speak more about Strother than he wants to about himself.
“I’m up here doing one of the hardest things for me, and that’s to talk about Dewain Strother,” said Strother, a 1974 Northwestern State graduate. “I don’t like to pull my chain. I don’t need to be patted on the back. This is something that never crossed my mind. When I got the call, I just stood there. (My wife) Lisa said, ‘What’s wrong?’ I said, ‘I just got inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.’ She said, ‘I thought you were already in it.’”
While the punch line led to a room full of laughs, no one laughed at what Strother accomplished in his four decades coaching the Black Cats.
In the early 1990s, Strother’s team was invited to an eight-team Tournament of Champions in Birmingham, Alabama. Each of the eight teams had won a state championship and were brought together to face off with one another.
“We went and played and won the first game,” Strother said. “We won the second. As a matter of fact, we went up against Saudia Roundtree, who ended up playing at Georgia. We played them and won. We played the finals and we won. We beat a team out of Illinois, I think. We won by 16 points, and the coach told me I didn’t have any class, because we beat them by 16.
“I told him, ‘Coach, I played my second bunch the last four minutes of the game, so I’m sorry.’ That was the Alabama trip.”
While McConathy’s career got a boost from his father, the latter part of Strother’s career enjoyed one from the other end of a family – a trio grandchildren that extended his Hall of Fame career before a brief two-year retirement that was upended by a return to Florien as an assistant coach this season.
“Who would have ever thought you’d be around long enough to coach your grandchildren?” Strother said. “I had my daughter here today. I coached her. I didn’t coach my son (on the court), but I coached him at home. Those of you who have grandchildren know, grandchildren should come first. You can spoil them and put them back in momma and daddy’s arms, and they’ve got to leave the house.
“They’re great. I enjoyed all three of mine. They were good players. The oldest one tore her ACL. The other two were good shooters, All-State players. I knew it was time to go, but it wasn’t time to go. Two years (out of the game) was rough. As they always say, if you need something, pray for it. He put me back.”
Jeopardy! – Season 42 – Show #9599 – Airdate 070226
NSU professor will compete on Jeopardy July 2
NATCHITOCHES – Dr. Joseph “Andy” Briseno, an associate professor in Northwestern State University’s Department of English, Languages and Cultural Studies, will be a contestant on the popular gameshow Jeopardy on Thursday, July 2.
Viewers can watch the episode on KTBS Channel 3 in the Shreveport and Natchitoches areas at 4:30 p.m. The show is also broadcast on their sister station, KPXJ CW 21, at 5:30 p.m. Live streaming is available for subscribers to services that include local affiliates, such as YouTube TV or Hulu.
Briseno is unable to provide details about his experience until after the broadcast, except to say that “Ken Jennings is the nicest guy.”
NATCHITOCHES – For the third straight year, Northwestern State’s student-athletes enjoyed increased representation on the Southland Conference Commissioner’s Spring Honor Roll.
The list, which honors student-athletes who produce a 3.0 grade point average or higher during their semester of competition, was announced Wednesday by the conference office. For Northwestern, the grouping includes student-athletes from seven programs – baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, softball, tennis and men’s and women’s track and field.
Northwestern placed 130 of its 180 spring student-athletes on the honor roll, a 72.2 percent rate, which is a nearly 1.5 percent increase over the 2025 totals. Since 2023, the Demons have seen their numbers increase each year, highlighted by a 12-athlete jump from 2024 to 2025.
More than one-quarter of the 130 qualifiers held a 4.0 in the spring semester.
The Demon baseball program led the way in 4.0s with 10 players posting that number. Women’s track and field had seven perfect marks, followed by tennis’ six 4.0s. Men’s track and field (4), softball (3), women’s basketball (2) and men’s basketball (1) all had student-athletes hit the 4.0 mark.
In addition to the 33 perfect GPAs, 85 student-athletes maintained at least a 3.5 GPA in the spring, which accounted for 30 percent of all NSU student-athletes.
Tennis placed all nine of its student-athletes on the honor roll, collecting a perfect score for the fourth time in five years.
Additional teams who saw an increase from 2025 to 2026 were softball (83.3 percent from 78.95) and baseball (78.1 percent from 73.5).
Baseball’s 32 honor roll members were the most of any Northwestern program while women’s track and field (29), men’s track and field (22) and softball (20) had at least 20 members on the honor roll.
In addition to tennis, softball and baseball, women’s track and field (72.5) and men’s basketball (71.4) placed at least 70 percent of their rosters on the honor roll.
NATCHITOCHES – The Cenla Mental Health Workforce Accelerator Program Grant funded by The Rapides Foundation and in consultation with the National Council for Mental Wellbeing is accepting applications from candidates and placement sites in nine parishes: Allen, Avoyelles, Catahoula, Grant, LaSalle, Natchitoches, Rapides, Vernon and Winn. Applications will be accepted until June 30.
The program helps bridge the gap between a master’s degree in mental health and licensure in Louisiana and supports mental health and community support systems in central Louisiana. It’s administered through Northwestern State University’s Gallaspy Family College of Education and Human Development.
Eligible candidatesare master’s level mental health professionals interested in pursuing Louisiana licensure as either a Licensed Professional Counselor or Licensed Clinical Social Worker. The program supports candidates through licensing exam preparation, licensure application fees, professional development and mentoring by content experts in counseling and social work. The program also covers the cost of candidate’s clinical supervision if the employer does not provide it.
Eligible placement sites are employers offering mental health services to children, adults and families living in central Louisiana. The program supports placement sites through job placement assistance and partial reimbursement of salaries for up to two years.
“We look forward to reviewing applications and to welcoming our next cohort of approved candidates and placement sites,” said Steven Gruesbeck, MS, NCC, executive director of Cenla Mental Health Workforce Accelerator Program at NSU.
Joe Rosier, President and CEO of The Rapides Foundation, said the Foundation’s Board of Trustees created the Cenla Mental Health Workforce Accelerator Program Grant in 2025 to help address the critical shortage of licensed mental health professionals in Central Louisiana. The four-year grant was awarded to NSU to carry out this important work.
“The program builds on our longstanding commitment to strengthening the region’s healthcare workforce, particularly in nursing, behavioral health and allied health fields,” Rosier said. “By supporting mental health professionals on their path to licensure, this program will help expand access to quality behavioral health services throughout our nine-parish service area.”
“Social workers are desperately needed and highly sought after in rural Louisiana to meet the needs of individuals with diminished access to services,” said Byron D. McKinney, MSW, LCSW-BACS, an associate professor of social work at NSU and social work mentor for the program.
“This is an exciting opportunity for Provisional Licensed Professional Counselors (PLPCs) beginning their licensure journey and a win for our region,” said Dr. Gerra Perkins, program coordinator for NSU’s Master of Arts in Counseling program and counseling mentor for the program. “Increasing the number of licensed mental health professionals and improving access to mental health care brings a host of benefits for individuals and families in our communities, including connection and resilience, economic well-being and better health outcomes.”
“By removing obstacles and providing relevant support, we will increase the number of fully licensed professionals in Central Louisiana by 2029,” said Dr. Susan Campbell, associate professor of social work at NSU and associate director of the program.
