Historic Black churches were among the thousands of structures destroyed or severely damaged in the May 16, 2025, tornado which ripped through north St. Louis and other parts of the region.
In support of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis tornado relief fund, Grammy Award winning gospel artist will perform in a benefit concert on Sunday June 29 at the Fo Theater.
Winans, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, In UNISON Chorus and the St. Louis Symphony Chorus will perform during “a powerful afternoon of music, healing, and community. Winans will share his stirring voice as he sings “Teach Me” and “Born for This.”
Michael P. McMillan, president and CEO of the Urban League, has seen his organization entrusted by city political, civic, and non-profit leaders to help lead the recovery effort.
“This is a Katrina-level catastrophe,” he said.
“We are dealing with so many different things, including the extreme damage to homes that have been passed down for generations. We are working around the clock now, and we will be doing so for years.”
While the benefit concert will offer a comforting afternoon, thousands of area residents are still dealing with the tornado’s destruction.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency i9FEMA) has opened a disaster assistance center at the Union Tabernacle M.B. Church at 626 N. Newstead Ave., (at Delmar).
The center is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday – Saturday.
FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration will help impacted residents with their disaster assistance applications, answer questions, and upload required documents.
According to FEMA, more locations in the city of St. Louis will be announced next week.
Those affected by the tornado are encouraged to apply for FEMA assistance before coming to a Disaster Recovery Center. Apply by calling (800) 621-3362 or online at DisasterAssistance.gov.
“Those FEMA disaster declarations have been approved and authorized but the clock is ticking on folks being able to apply for those resources,” Congressman Wesley Bell said at Affinia Healthcare on Friday.
“It’s important for us to make sure people understand what they need to do (regarding) the application process. We know the process can be onerous in some ways, so our office is here to help with that and help walk people through the processes.”
On its website, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) acknowledges that navigating its processes can be challenging, especially for low-income individuals and families. Bell said he wants to help mitigate some of those challenges. He started by stating the application process (for both tragedies) is typically 60 days.
“That’s a hard deadline and we will try to get the administration to extend it, but we can’t promise that. That’s why it’s so important for folks to get their applications in as quickly as possible,” Bell said, adding: “Contact our office and we will open a case file to help walk those individuals through this process.”
Bell said deadlines to get applications turned in for relief for the March 14-15 severe storms are July 22 and Aug. 30, respectively.
“The clock is ticking and until there is an extension [and] we can’t count on one,” Bell stressed.
He added that there are other accompanying documents that may also be needed “so, it’s not something you want to wait on until the last day to do.”
InvestSTL providing direct payments
InvestSTL has established The Northside Resilience Fund Direct Cash Assistance Initiative “a phase-one response providing families the financial flexibility needed to begin the path to recovery,” according to the organization.
It has raised Over $2.7 million toward its goal of $4 million to provide $3,000 in direct cash assistance to at least 1,300 households most affected by the tornado to support their immediate and emerging needs.
The focus area for the initiative includes the North St. Louis neighborhoods most impacted by the tornado: Academy, College Hill, Fairground, Fountain Park, Greater Ville, Hamilton Heights, JeffVanderLou, Kingsway East, Kingsway West, Lewis Place, Mark Twain, North Riverfront, O’Fallon, Penrose, The Ville, Vandeventer, Visitation Park, Wells-Goodfellow, and West End.
Renters or homeowners whose homes were declared to have “severe structural damage” (received the red sticker) by St. Louis City’s Building Division are eligible.
“We are asking local and national funders, corporations and individuals to partner with us to meet this critical moment with urgency and meaningful commitment,” InvestSTL states on its website.
To apply or to support the fund, go to https://www.investstl.org/.