Homeless Shelter

Doorways opened a 50-apartment complex in Jeff-Vander-Lou, and St. Patrick Place is making 24 apartments available for homeless people in the Greater Ville. But advocates say more help is needed.

Homelessness in the St. Louis region has been increasing over the past few years because of the lack of affordable housing, the coronavirus pandemic and increased rent. Advocates for homeless people say a new Missouri law that will make living on state-owned property illegal on Jan. 1 will exacerbate the problem.

St. Louis’ last pop-up safe haven shelter has closed for the season, and the city has yet to fund one.

Local providers and organizers are scrambling to keep a pop-up emergency shelter open during freezing temperatures, while they wait on the city to fund one.

St. Louis has set aside more than $43 million in federal funding for homeless services and housing support. Advocates hope to see progress before deadly winter weather arrives.

All 50 of the units in the tiny home village will be full as of this week, but homeless advocates say the federal coronavirus relief money could have been stretched further to help more St. Louisans in need.

Propelled by the freezing weather this month, a group of St. Louis nonprofits worked together to make additional room for around 250 people in the past two weeks.

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.

Though the city of St. Louis has added hundreds of new beds this year, outreach organizations are worried about the possibility of viral spread within emergency homeless shelters. With the first day of winter less than seven weeks away, these groups are scrambling to rewrite existing shelter procedures in an effort to keep the virus at bay.

St. Louis is preparing 186 more beds across the city for people who are homeless during the coldest months of the year.Mayor Lyda Krewson announced…