St. Louis residents currently homeless, or at risk of becoming so, are directed to call 211 for housing assistance. An overwhelming majority of the time, those calls prove fruitless.
Free clothing and food are sought by many more. Not to mention the scores of people who desperately seek assistance in order to pay for utilities and medicine.
All of the above, and more, are things that Rev. Larry Rice and the New Life Evangelistic Center (NLEC) have provided for almost 50 years downtown. Which is why the politically-driven obstacles City Hall has erected in order to keep NLEC out of downtown are not only cruel, but counterproductive to improving the city for everyone (“Larry Rice withdraws lawsuit against St. Louis, refocusing on St. Louis County,” May 30).
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That’s because showing compassion to our poor lifts the morale and character of a community. While doing the opposite creates not only gentrification, but heartlessness and greed.
Do you want a better downtown? A better city? A better region? Good schools, new development, a well-manned police force and efficiently delivered services are undoubtedly important.
But equally critical is ensuring that NLEC, St. Patrick’s Center, Biddle House, Peter & Paul and other charities are strong and fully functioning. We have largely failed in the former and, even more tragically, completely failed in the latter. The consequences are clear, and will remain so, until we advocate for selflessness over selfishness. Doing so is never wrong.
Brian Ireland
Although the homeless encampment outside City Hall started around July, it wasn’t until September that the amount of tents quickly grew. After the mayor’s office announced the camp would be cleared on October 2, there was uncertainty of how much longer the encampment would be allowed to stay. Video by Allie Schallert, aschallert@post-dispatch.com