Unhoused STL is paying it forward in reach into St. Louis’ most vulnerable community. Founder and CEO Ramona Curtis, a former local reporter, has used her gift as a storyteller to bring awareness to the plight of the unhoused through her social media platforms.
“If we are going to do better at accepting unhoused people we need to start thinking of them as human beings,” said Curtis.
Curtis wants to humanize the very people we pass every day, the people we see at the intersection. She believes they have a story that is worth sharing.
According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness there were 6,527 homeless individuals on a given night in Missouri in 2020.
Curtis passionately said, “We want to call ourselves this world-class city because we have this billion-dollar soccer stadium, but some of our citizens [explicitly] outside.”
The report also shows that between 2019 and 2020 the state’s unsheltered population increased by 69%. More specifically unhoused families increased by 5%, and youth homelessness increased by 26%. The report shows that in St. Louis County there are 479 unhoused individuals on a given night in 2020. The numbers are even more alarming for St. Louis City, when there were 1,260 unhoused individuals on a given night in 2020 also.
Before Curtis founded the Unhoused STL, a non-profit organization, she began connecting with the unhoused by sitting and talking with them, getting to know them on a personal level. She began to tell their stories on her social media platforms titled Homeless of St. Louis inspired by the national storytelling project Humans of New York.
From her postings on her social media, she says that her project took off, and folks would message her inquiring about how they can get involved and donate.
“I never started out saying, I’m going to start a nonprofit. Having a non-profit wasn’t a part of my original plan,” said Curtis.
She says the community came together and decided that they collectively should do a food drive, giveaways, and community events to help those facing housing insecurities. People were donating items, food, and money to Curtis before she became an official 501c3.
Curtis admits she was hesitant about taking donations in the beginning because she wasn’t an official organization, just someone who cares, a storyteller using her skills to get the word. However, her supporters wouldn’t take no for an answer and insisted that she take the donations.
Curtis connected with Cathy ‘Mama Cat’ Daniels of Pot Bangerz and Andrew Cole of the Urban City Services for her first major community giveaway. She held a Black History Month community giveaway last February and from that event led Curtis to have monthly giveaways for the unhoused neighbors in St. Louis.
During the winter of 2021, Unhoused STL partnered with local housing shelters, her organization managed three winter shelters and put together three pop-up shelters.
Curtis says she is calling out our [city] Board of Alderman for “trying to criminalize people for experiencing housing insecurities, by making it illegal for them to sleep outside on public properties.”
To fight what she considers “an atrocity” towards the unhoused, the activist has rallied local organizations like Arch City Defenders, Action St. Louis, and Black Men Build to fight the policies she feels hurt the people she cares deeply about.
“The government is intentionally neglecting the unhoused because they have the resources, they are choosing not to use those resources towards them. And I’m angry about it,” she said.
She wants the St. Louisans to do better in how we address the unhoused population, she wants us to stop being so neglectful towards them. Curtis is working diligently to recreate a city that cares about its people.
“We want to call ourselves this world-class city because we have this billion-dollar soccer stadium, but some of our citizens [use the bathroom] outside.”
During the summer months, Unhoused STL had an eight-week cooling shelter called Heatwave Haven in the downtown west neighborhood. The cooling shelter provided a space where those facing harsh living conditions in the elements could cool off, and receive food, medical attention, and other much-needed services.
The organization partnered with the St. Patrick Center, our local Urban League, and the Bridge STL for the cooling shelter. The Bridge is a local thrift store that donated clothes to Heatwave Haven to provide the unhoused with a free dignified shopping experience.
Curtis connected with Dr. Nathan Nolan, who visited every Wednesday, to provide medical needs, blood pressure tests, hepatitis, and HIV/AIDS. Hearts for the Unhoused also helped out with their medical fair as well. Homes For All, a tenants’ rights organization that helped the unhoused apply for jobs, and SNAP benefits who were at Heatwave Haven. And St. Francis Xavier College Church gave out free identification cards.
“In that eight-week period, we were able to connect people to a lot of services,” said Curtis.
Unhoused couple Naomi Jordan and Eric Brown are so grateful for Curtis and her organization.
Both met Curtis when she started Heatwave Haven when they were living outside near Jefferson by the downtown west neighborhood. The couple had been unhoused for two months when Jordan lost her apartment back in June. They say Unhoused STL has helped them get resources medically, food, receive SNAP benefits, and temporary housing at the Tiny House Community on Jefferson. During those hot summer months, Heatwave Haven came through for Jordan and Brown and folks who are a part of their community.
“It should be more people like Ramona, that have a heart to do for the unhoused people,” said Brown. Following his statement, Jordan said, “Since meeting Ramona it has been so positive.”
Brown says he feels the local politicians aren’t doing enough to help those like him and his girlfriend. They feel ignored and overlooked.
According to the City of St. Louis Housing Support: Services for the Unhoused the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for the homeless has a total amount of $16,386,370.00. $10,970,334.64 has been allocated for Estimate and Apportionment (E&A) approved contracts, personnel services, and Board Bill approved Intergovernmental agreements (IGA). There are eight projects to help combat homelessness in our city, each project is given a certain amount of funds.
For example, the Wrap-Around-Services project has $1,250,000.00 in its budget, but the project is only estimated to need $973,946.00, however, the project department has only spent $1,747.20.
The Permanent Supportive Housing project has a budget of $1,500,000.00, the estimated funds needed is $1,210,784.00, but zero dollars have been spent. The Tiny Homes project has a budget of $2,000,000.00 the estimated amount needed for this project is $1,000,000.00 but only $689.50 have been spent on the project.
Curtis said, “I can’t rely on the city, despite the fact that the city has the funding, they’re not spending it on those who it is for.”
Now that we are in the cooler months of the year, Curtis is prepping her team and volunteers for the winter ahead. She is getting set up for her winter shelter called Revolution Winter Haven, she is calling it a revolution because Unhoused STL is tired of the way our city is handling homelessness, her staff and volunteers are finding ways to radically love unhoused people.
“We are a pulled-together group of caring people,” said Curtis. The founder and CEO hoped to bring more awareness and resources to the people she cares about the most.
Ashley Winters if the St. Louis American Report for America reporter
