ST. LOUIS, MO

St. Louis was founded by French fur traders in 1764 because of its location near the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. This area belonged to France and Spain until it was purchased by the United States in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. St. Louis grew into an industrial center for commerce and trade, attracting thousands of immigrants.

After the Civil War, the area continued growing rapidly, and by 1890 it was the fourth largest city in the U.S. During the Great Migration (1920 – 1940). By 1950, the population boomed to over 856,000. However, the city could not maintain this population, and many of the white immigrant families moved to the suburbs. This resulted in the St. Louis urban areas having a much higher concentration of African American families then the rest of the state.

According to one study, St. Louis ranked as America’s 10th most segregated city. Redlining and discriminatory housing practices in the mid-and-late twentieth century created clear geographic boundaries between ethnic groups.

YouthWorks started serving in St. Louis in 2002 and has served with many of the same service partners for years who are established service organizations throughout the city.

YouthWorks’ ministry in St. Louis allows students an opportunity to serve alongside and learn from people experiencing systematic economic disadvantages. Our hope is for students to better understand the role that diversity plays in shaping personal and societal opportunities. While YouthWorks cannot address all the issues that residents of St. Louis experience, we can come alongside local organizations meeting the daily needs of residents, especially those living north of Delmar Boulevard.