Derrick Thomas, newly elected board chairman of Gateway 180, is already strategically planned how he will strengthen and grow the state’s largest 24-hour family emergency shelter – and help more of its clients transition into homes.
Gateway 180 is a resource for women, children and families experiencing the burden of homelessness. Thomas began serving a two-year term as board chairman on January 1, replacing former board chairman, Mike Stokes.
Thomas said most nonprofits, like Gateway 180, typically rely on donations and grants from corporate endowments and government agencies.
“That’s all well and fine,” he said, “but I would like to see our organization control its destiny by creating its own income streams.”
His plans include long-term goals like steering the board toward creating more avenues for transitional housing “or even acting as co-developer,” he said, “helping the agency create affordable housing of its own that it could own and operate.”
He said he will also utilize his personal network to recruit more talented and dedicated leaders to serve as board members and on the agency’s various committees. He hopes to build a coalition of individuals who would pose ideas on how to bring in earned income for the agency.
He has more than 20 years experience in the building and real estate industry and serves as president at Urban Build Group, a real estate consulting and development consortium firm. He serves on the Homebuilder’s Association Board and the Affordable Housing Commission.
The Affordable Housing Commission financially supports the agency’s emergency shelter program and is an integral piece of Mayor Francis G. Slay’s 10-year plan to end homelessness in St. Louis, Thomas said.
Thomas was hired as a general contractor to help design and construct a new recreational backyard space for children temporarily housed at Gateway 180. The space came to be known as Mack’s Backyard, named after four-year-old Mack, a client who told staff the hardest part about being homeless was not having his own backyard.
In 2013, the agency provided emergency shelter to 547 children, with an average age of seven. Amenities – like Mack’s Backyard or a mural of smiling playful children painted years ago by children who were clients at the emergency shelter – make the agency seem more like home.
Thomas will work closely with newly appointed Executive Director Kathleen Heinz Beach, who is uniquely qualified to serve the agency, he said. Beach replaces former Executive Director Martin Rafanan and recently served as interim director and as a board member. As a board member, Thomas had a vote in Beach’s appointment to executive director.
“Kathleen has a sincere nature in fulfilling the mission of Gateway 180. She has a genuine rapport in engaging with the clients,” Thomas said. “Her transition will provide greater stability for our organization as we continue to serve the most vulnerable families in our community.”
The agency strives to end homelessness in metro St. Louis by providing families with the necessary tools to help them become both independent and permanently housed. The agency is a member of the St. Louis Continuum of Care for Ending Homelessness, a collaborative network of over 60 providers of health, social and domestic violence services.
The emergency shelter is one of four housing programs at the agency that includes traditional housing, Rapid Rehousing and Permanent Supportive Housing. Between the agency’s four housing programs, the agency served 1,122 people in 2013.
Beach said the agency’s Permanent Supportive Housing program is the agency’s largest potential growth area. The program offers Section 8 housing with clients paying 30 percent of their income and is open to qualifying families who have graduated from the emergency shelter program.
“We welcome families into our emergency shelter on what is often the worst day of their lives and we give them hope,” Beach said. “Thanks to the support we receive from the St. Louis community and the hard work of our staff, they will never be homeless again.”
For more information, visit www.gateway180.org/. The emergency number is 314-802-5444.
