Every Tuesday from 8:00AM to 1:00PM, volunteers from Urban City Services, Communities First, and FreeSource host a free drop-in center at 816 Allen Avenue in Soulard, continuing the Tuesday programming that AmeriCorps St. Louis offered for over six years. Anyone can come in for a hot shower, a meal, coffee, a place to charge a phone or use a computer, help with IDs and paperwork, and time with peer volunteers who listen without judgment. No appointment, referral, or intake is needed.
Being able to shower regularly is important for people's health and hygiene, and also for their dignity and how they feel in general. The drop-in center also gives outreach workers and service providers a consistent place to connect with people each week.
The space is available through the generosity of Urban City Services and its Bounce Back Project, and in particular Andre Cole, whose openness made this continuation possible. House Everyone STL provided the seed funding that helped us get started. Communities First anchors day-of operations, resource navigation, and harm reduction, and FreeSource provides technology access and peer support.
Guests who help set up, clean, and keep things running smoothly receive a modest stipend for their time, and we would like to be able to continue that. The volunteers from each partner organization are unpaid, so donations go directly toward supplies and stipends.
This campaign aims to cover the four Tuesdays in October, including towel laundry for the showers, hygiene supplies, food and coffee, and guest stipends. Alongside it, the partner organizations are working together on steadier support, including food donations and grant applications.
FreeSource, a St. Louis 501(c)(3), is serving as fiscal agent for the partners, and gifts are tax-deductible. We will post updates here on what comes in and how it's used. Thank you for being part of this!