For the past few months, the Houma Police Department received complaints of a female sleeping in her vehicle at the Main Branch Library, located near the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center. Once receiving the complaints, Houma Police contacted the female and identified her as Santelle Diggs, 54 years, old of Baton Rouge. It was discovered that Ms. Diggs was homeless and had been staying in her vehicle since August of 2019.

Houma Police learned Ms. Diggs had mechanical problems with her vehicle, so a local businessman, Freddie Hebert, owner of Keep it Rolling Auto Body Repair Shop, was contacted and offered to repair her vehicle for free.

Yesterday, Houma Police and Mr. Hebert retrieved Ms. Diggs vehicle, which was described as a small white Mazda SUV, and transported it to Keep it Rolling where it was fixed. Shortly thereafter, the vehicle was returned to Ms. Diggs where additional assistance was rendered to help her return to Baton Rouge.

Chief of Police Dana Coleman would like to thank members within HPD, their partners within the parish, such as staff at the Main Branch Library and the START Corporation, and Freddie Hebert with Keep it Rolling Auto Repair for their assistance. Their generosity definitely shows that no matter what our community endures in the midst of a pandemic, we can collectively come together and help one another in a time of need.   

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