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Mini Poll: Regional Homelessness Is A City Issue
Almost all of the St. Louis region's services to help homeless people are located in the City of St. Louis, even though many of the calls to the Homeless Hotline come from outside the city.
Frankly, that is unlikely to change anytime soon, because it is too convenient for some local municipal and county officials to export their problems. This reality is particularly frustrating to some Downtown residents, who were until recently residents of some of these same suburban municipalities. As Mayor Francis Slay notes: their perspective has shifted a little.
Faced with an inevitable challenge — and aware of any true city's moral responsibility — the City of St. Louis partners with most of the homeless service providers, and has been operating under a formal Ten-Year Plan (pdf) to address chronic homelessness.
That plan seems to be working. The number of homeless people counted on the City's streets has declined. Programs to find permanent housing, training, and jobs for homeless veterans have been particularly noteworthy. And other cities across the country have adopted elements of the St. Louis plan.
Downtown's newest residents, many of whom rent or own lofts along Washington Avenue, have been quick learners about the City's efforts and available resources — and have begun volunteering their time, money, effort, diverse talents, and vigilance to building a neighborhood that accommodates everyone.
This week's Mini-Poll explores the issue of homelessness.
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