Beyond Housing launches ‘Transformative’ effort

Beyond Housing has opened its Transformative Services Department, which is designed to address poverty more effectively to bring more St. Louisans into the economic mainstream.

 “We’ve torn down the silos so we can get more clients who come to us when in crisis onto a path to stability,” said Chris Krehmeyer, Beyond Housing president and CEO.

All supportive services under one department. We now have one team that intakes clients, assesses their needs, develops a personalized case plan for each individual, and guides them efficiently through the process to find success.

Beyond Housing has worked for 14 years to transform many under-resourced communities in the Normandy school district’s footprint “to create a stronger, more equitable, and prosperous St. Louis for all,” according to Krehmeyr.

“For decades, this area has had the highest concentration of poverty in the Missouri side of the metro region.”

 He said “national thought-leaders” including Health Equity Works at Washington University, the Aspen Institute, the Stanford Social Innovation Review, NeighborWorks America, and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco helped design the new department.

 “We know that families and communities have many needs that must be met in order to thrive,” said Krehmeyer.

“A family may come to us for housing, but if they don’t have a job that can pay the rent or mortgage, that home won’t last.  The new department brings all our supportive services together to serve people in an even greater holistic manner.”

 Beyond Housing began designing the department in 2021, utilizing the latest thinking and best practices to help people overcome poverty. 

“Community development needs to be so much more than homes, buildings, and parks,” said Jaclyn Belt, Beyond Housing’s chief transformation officer and head of the new department.

“A community is made up of people and can only be as successful as the residents within it.  And transforming our under-resourced communities creates a more successful region for all of us.”

The Transformative Services Department centralizes staff into six specializations to serve needs, standardize service delivery, and utilize real-time data and reporting.

Its 16 staff specialize in housing stability, career development, financial empowerment, community health, and business resources.

“Beyond Housing now has a greater emphasis on case management, versus crisis management and a lot of verticals,” Belt said.

“This model is designed to influence a change in the knowledge, attitude, skills, and aspirations of our clients and to acknowledge the interconnected needs among individuals, families, and communities.”