Organization for Black Struggle, Youth Council for Positive Development, and their partners for a CommUNITY, Hope & Wellness Day at Dr. Martin Luther King & Hodiamont! The event featured free COVID-19 testing, voter registration, activities for kids, attendance prizes, spoken word performances, networking, hot dogs and drinks, and more. Includes a special performance by the St. Louis Black Rep, “Fannie Lou Hamer Speaks On It,” featuring Denise Thimes as Fannie Lou Hamer!
The WLCDC is partnering with St. Louis Storystitchers, the Wells-Goodfellow Neighborhood Association, Somewhere Studios, Alberici Constructors, Metro and Cure Violence on a community building project at the corner of Dr. MLK and Hodiamont.
In addition to an accessible bus shelter lit with solar powered lights, space for hygiene items and a community bulletin board, a mural by renowned artist, Katherine Bernhardt will beautify the heavily trafficked but depleted area. Recently, the Wellston Loop area (actually within City limits on the border with Wellston) experienced many fires, building collapses and deaths due to overdose and violence.
Due to COVID-19, our festivals with St. Louis StoryStitchers and others focusing on healthy food and building a peaceful, prosperous neighborhood were cancelled. The WLCDC shifted its efforts to providing hygiene products and food. At the same time, we interviewed residents about what would make life better in the Wellston Loop.
Some of the comments we heard were: “We need something to help everyone”, “We need healing and recovery” “We need to lift each other up” “We need people coming together – Black and white” “We need positive things for people to do.”
Saint Louis Story Stitchers is partnering with the Wellston Loop Community Development Corporation on a youth-driven collaborative project that uses the creation of a bus stop shelter and fence mural to drive public engagement and honest discourse on issues including gun violence, race, trauma, gangs, food insecurity, addiction, etc. Stitchers Youth leaders create programming for one of St. Louis’s challenged African American districts to foster a safe and supportive neighborhood.
Read more about the project here: The Shelter Project
The metro market bus
The St. Louis MetroMarket is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit mobile farmers’ market that is restoring access to healthy, affordable food to St. Louis City food deserts.
We have transformed a donated city bus into a grocery store on wheels to bridge physical, financial, and educational barriers in food deserts in order to have the greatest potential towards increasing the supply and demand for healthy foods in these low-income, high need communities.
Way 2 Fresh Eats
Providing community in the St. Louis region with a healthy selection of food creatively.
Tigerlili resources 1520 hodiamont
To reach woman who are sexually exploited and trafficked, offer them a safe escape and guide them to whole healing in Jesus Christ.
department of health
The Department of Health is responsible for the health and safety of the community.
Free Source
FreeSource is a St. Louis based non-profit organization that empowers people with low or no incomes to connect with vocational and community resource opportunities. We do this by fostering bases of in person remote volunteers who work with people to help them connect with the resources that they need.
stl story stitchers
To document Saint Louis through art and word to promote understanding, civic pride, intergenerational relationships and literacy.
To promote a better educated, more peaceful and caring region through storytelling.
stop the bleed
A non-profit collaborative of health professionals and students working to reduce the impact of trauma, injury and violence in many ways.
swan house, llc
A women owned business transforming modest homes. Now building capacity for deconstruction, demolition and tiny homes with solar capacity.
safe connections
Safe Connections’ award-winning, nationally-accredited programs reduce the impact and incidence of domestic and sexual violence through youth education, 24-hour crisis care, and therapy for adult and teen survivors.
garbage 2 good
Composting, raising worms, beautification, recycling and salvage of City demolition.
