BATON ROUGE - Voters in East Baton Rouge Parish will decide several tax propositions on the May 3 ballot, including a program that for decades has supported students during difficult times. The five propositions are tax renewals, totaling 19.81 Mills in property taxes.

I Care began in 1986, and voters have renewed it three times. And for a $200,000 house with a homestead exemption, the program costs nine dollars a year.

"It is needed in our community. Kids, they need our support, they need our help, they need us advocating for them, I think at the end of the day we have so many things going on in our community and I think that just servicing our students and helping them the trauma that is happening," Erin Pourciau-Bradford, executive director of I Care, said.

At first, the I Care Program focused on preventing substance abuse. As the times have changed, the mission has expanded to include other dangers, like kids involved in crimes.

"It played a role in us changing, because we had to pivot and I think we had to keep with the date, keep with the trend and continue to serve our students the best way we can," she said. 

The tax's renewal for another decade is a matter of survival for the program. If it doesn't pass, Bradford says I Care would cease to exist, leaving students less supported.

"Us not being in the schools, us not seeing students would mean that students would not be getting that education, would not be getting that advocacy or the support that they need to make healthier and better choices," she said.