For Every $1 Spent on Police, Less Than a Penny Goes to the Unhoused
By KB Doman and Z Gorley
December 19, 2024
Yesterday, the City of St. Louis shared a Facebook post written by Mayor Tishaura Jones, in which she claims, “…we have made providing more beds a cornerstone of our homeless services.” But the reality is that there are fewer shelter beds than in recent years, and families in need are being shut out.
The City’s Misleading Numbers
Though the Mayor’s numbers point to an increase in transitional housing since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, these beds are not accessible to most St. Louisans on the coldest nights as referral hours are limited and these beds often have higher barriers to entry than emergency shelters. Increasing both emergency shelter beds and transitional housing is vital to preventing suffering and weather-related deaths this winter.
Not all of the emergency shelter beds are open 7 days a week. Forty of the 122 listed emergency shelter beds are open a maximum of 3 days a week, between Thursday to Saturday, and when it is below 25 degrees. These shelters require volunteer staffing to open.
An average of 19 households per day were told there was nowhere for them to go from September to November 2024. At least 416 households were turned away in November alone.
These numbers only capture individuals who chose to provide their personal information after being informed no shelter was available for them that night. It’s often the case that by the time someone is shut out, they have been on hold with the United Way’s 2-1-1 for extended periods and hung up on multiple times.
Moreover, very few shelters in St. Louis accept walk-ups, making it extraordinarily difficult to find a bed outside of 2-1-1 or the warming bus, the city’s only central location for people without phones to access shelter.
The City chose to cease funding the warming bus in 2022. This year, local groups (Winter Outreach, Urban City Services, and Gateway 180) came together to fund and operate this critical resource.
The Lived Reality of St. Louis’s Unhoused Community
For years, what “the City says” about its homeless services has not matched the experiences of unhoused folks we have met and represented. Instead of receiving wrap-around services, unhoused communities’ limited belongings and supplies are trashed by the police and Forestry departments, they are ticketed for being poor, funneled into courts intent on collecting money, and then thrown into cages if they do not pay.
Looking at the City’s budget reveals its investment and over-reliance on the legal system to respond to poverty:
Another way to think about this is—for every $1 the city spends on police, less than one penny goes to homeless services: $1,000 police = $10 unhoused.
Take Action
More funding for unhoused services in St. Louis is critical. Low-barrier, stable shelter access and the decriminalization of homelessness keep people alive when the temperatures drop. We know that true community safety is achieved when people have access to the basic resources they need to survive.
If you want to take action, here are a couple of ideas:
- Volunteer and/or donate to Winter Outreach, Tent Mission STL, Urban City Services.
- Spread the word, share this post.