Places for People held a groundbreaking ceremony and press conference Thursday for a new facility to house chronically homeless citizens with mental illness.
Places for People, founded in 1972, is a St. Louis-based agency that aims to serve citizens that live with serious and persistent mental illness.
The agency’s newest project is a $5.7 million renovation of 5235 Page Blvd. Francie Broderick, executive director for Places for People, and state Treasurer Clint Zweifel, who has shown state support by helping to secure a state tax credit to support the project, knocked down a symbolic wall during the ceremony.
“We’re knocking down the wall that says you can’t fund a project like this on a tax credit,” Broderick said.
Zweifel mentioned during the ceremony that 1.1 million Missourians suffer from a mental illness in a given year. According to Places for People, it is estimated that between 50 and 75 percent of the chronically homeless have a serious mental illness.
“Places at Page represents the critical need for housing people with a mental illness and shows how state resources are being successfully allocated to address this issue,” Broderick said.
The building is a historic building that housed the Blind Girls Home in the early 20th century. Now the building will be called Places at Page and will be a home for those with mental illness. The new facility will have on-site staff who will assist the residents of Places at Page.
The building will have 23 residential apartments for residents who will only use Places at Page temporarily while they get back on their feet or for those who will stay there for an extended period of time. The building will have one and two bedroom apartments, along with nine efficiency apartments meant to temporarily house people in case of an emergency. The building will include central air and each room will have closet space and a kitchen.
People living with a serious mental illness are often mistreated and left without any care. Oftentimes they are taken to the emergency room, locked wards in nursing homes and jails.
“This is an investment Missouri’s future. The stories of success are real and significant,” Zweifel said. “And it is fiscally responsible because it reduces the cost in tax dollars paid for emergency rooms, nursing homes and prisons by just being proactive.”
Zweifel is calling on the state’s housing commission, which funded this housing initiative, to use one-third of federal and state tax credits to build housing to support people with special needs.
“We’ve started a discussion. And we can do it in a way that is fiscally responsible,”
Zweifel said. “It requires no new spending, just a better allocation of resources.”
Places for People hopes to have the building completely renovated and ready this summer. No official process for those wishing to live at Places at Page has been outlined, but that information will be made available as the renovation nears completion.
