Local historic districts and zoning codes that restricted the number of residents slowly but surely forced out the $5- and $10-per-night boarding and flophouses as residents reclaimed and renovated vacant historic structures. In the 1970s and 1980s, neighborhoods like Soulard, Lafayette Square and Benton Park were saved by these codes, but they also forced many privately operated boardinghouses out of business, pushing the poor and at-risk into downtown, where they joined the huge numbers of mentally ill recently released from the state’s psychiatric wards. The 1985 court case Graham vs. Schoemehl (see Page 16) led to the creation of the city’s Homeless Services Division. Community nonprofits and religious organizations along with City of St. Louis began to create a network of services to care for the city’s poor and homeless. This transition pushed the private sector out of providing for the region’s poor and placed the burden on public resources, neighborhood churches and community organizations. This old river city has come a long way, and it has a long way to go. The sources of homelessness in St. Louis have been diverse, and moving forward, we face many more challenges. The lack of strong public schools is feeding the correctional system with individuals who can’t make a living on $7.35 an hour and choose crime versus legal means of income. Too many youths have zero support once they age out of the foster care system, and individuals with decades of substance abuse are not easily supported or housed. The system we’ve created has become so complicated to navigate that nonprofits exist just to help the poor access the services. At this time, the city only has the resources to continue to put a Band-Aid on homelessness. The long-term solution will be getting the private sector back into providing housing, and mandating affordable housing levels in new developments that receive public support. St. Louis didn’t get here overnight, and it won’t be able to fix the problem quickly. However, advocates for the poor need support in their effort to work for justice by creating true equal opportunity for all. Advocates must continue to stand in the face of injustice that passes benefits to the wealthy and well-connected and away from the development of affordable housing, job programs and social support. The poor and homeless might always be with us, but most want an opportunity and are willing to work if given the chance.
needs to be evaluated. If we continue to value low interest rates and high stock prices more than human suffering, we must accept that we really are not working to end poverty, but to tolerate it. We are ALL at risk of falling into poverty, and we ALL need to work for justice. jay swoboda is the Founder & Director of Whats Up Magazine. The content of this article was inspired by Tom Burnham, a long-time advocate for the poor of St. Louis.
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JUSTICE DENIED ANYWHERE DIMINISHES JUSTICE EVERYWHERE.
- MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
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Simply providing shelter from the unpredictable Midwestern weather and access to health and transitional services sets a very low bar, despite the fact that it is far from simple. As a global community, the system that creates poverty, namely capitalism, volume 12:1 whatsupstl.com
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