St. Louis Homeless Crisis Coverage by Shahla Farzan

For months, a small group of people has occupied about a dozen tents along the McGuire Moving & Storage building, a vacant warehouse north of downtown St. Louis. But late last week, a notice to vacate appeared on the side of the building, informing encampment residents to leave the private property by Monday morning.

St. Louis officials stressed last spring that two downtown tent encampments posed a threat to public health, eventually relocating residents to temporary housing across the city. An investigation by St. Louis Public Radio in collaboration with APM Reports has found the city may have put residents in harm's way by placing them at hotels with a history of criminal violence, drug activity and unsanitary living conditions.

Since the pandemic began, the number of teens and young adults waiting for a shelter bed at Covenant House Missouri in St. Louis has more than doubled — and many are experiencing homelessness for the first time.

A program at St. Patrick Center that houses at-risk homeless women in St. Louis has been in a precarious position in recent years, but an influx of federal funding has allowed it to expand its capacity.

An investigation by St. Louis Public Radio and APM Reports found at least five homeless people froze to death this winter after city officials declined to fund a 24-hour walk-in shelter.