Regional discussions on homelessness continue as St. Louis organizations prepare for colder weather

Why This Matters

Cold weather has arrived in STL. This week the city released its plans for creating more temporary beds during inclement weather this winter. Nathan Vickers stopped by to chat with our CEO Anthony D’Agostino about our first winter at our new Community Campus.

Originally published by First Alert 4. Continue reading or visit firstalert4.com to watch the video.

By Nathan Vickers

November 21, 2024

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) – With cold weather moving into the area, organizations are doing what they can to help those facing homelessness.

The City of St. Louis released its winter preparedness plan this week, highlighting the resources available for the unhoused.

The Department of Human Services is helping fund about 160 inclement weather shelter beds in addition to the over 800 shelter beds in the community year-round. The department also provides sleeping cots, blankets, hats, socks, and cleaning supplies to verified pop-up shelters and outreach organizations. It will continue its joint outreach efforts with the Department of Health’s Behavioral Health Bureau.

The majority of the inclement weather beds should become active on Dec. 1 and be open throughout the winter on nights when temperatures drop below 25 degrees with precipitation and 20 degrees without precipitation.

Discussions surrounding a more regional, comprehensive approach to housing have also taken shape over the past few weeks.

Adam Pearson, the Director of Human Services for the city, said that the East-West Gateway Council has been working on developing a strategy for homelessness that includes cooperative efforts from entities spanning several counties in the area.

This fall, EWGC spearheaded an initiative called The Housing First STL Summit, focused on forming a blueprint for developing such a strategy. The group met again this week to share early progress being made to identify key organizations that could serve as anchors for the effort.

“For us to truly solve the issue, we need collaboration from several different counties so we can foster discussions that design a system that works,” Pearson said.