Homelessness

The St. Louis Department of Human Services has increased its partnerships with local agencies to provide more beds and social services support throughout the winter for people who are experiencing homelessness.

Hundreds of families received meal kits containing turkey, green beans, yams, turkey gravy and stuffing, rolls, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce and more Wednesday at the organization’s resource center in Maryland Heights.

David Semrau is about to become homeless — again. Since early June, he's been staying at a motel in Belleville. However, those funds have run out, and there's no clear answer to who will take care of the 78-year-old next.

Bill sponsor Alisha Sonnier says that housing is a human right and that the city has a responsibility to help people transition to permanent housing.

Forestry and Streets Divisions workers, with help from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and advocates, dismantled, bagged and tagged a smattering of tents and belongings left from the encampment late Tuesday evening.

A law passed by the Missouri General Assembly last year made sleeping on state-owned land a Class C misdemeanor. The legislation was modeled off a template by a conservative think tank, but housing advocates say it criminalizes homelessness and was improperly tacked onto an unrelated bill.

Call for Help Inc., an East St. Louis-based nonprofit known for assisting people in need, said it was shutting down at the end of September.

The Board of Aldermen returns in September, when a handful of bills designed to help tenants are likely to be introduced.

Affinia Healthcare is teaming up with City Hope St. Louis to provide people who are homeless with health care services. The facility is offering medical, dental and optical services to people experiencing homelessness associated with the nonprofit.

A law passed last year made sleeping on state-owned land a misdemeanor in Missouri. It went into effect Jan. 1, but critics say there is still a lack of clarity from the state surrounding its implementation.