MISSION ST LOUIS
3108 N GRAND BLVD, ST LOUIS, MO 63107 www.missionstl.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: MISSION ST LOUIS EXISTS TO EMPOWER PEOPLE TO TRANSFORM THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS

BEYOND CHARITY: WHILE EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT ARE CRITICAL FACTORS IN BREAKING THE CYCLE OF POVERTY, OTHER NEIGHBORHOOD ISSUES ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO THE GENERATIONAL CYCLE OF POVERTY IN ST. LOUIS. OLDER ADULTS ARE IMPORTANT MATRIARCHS AND PATRIARCHS OF THE COMMUNITY. BEYOND CHARITY IS COMPRISED OF PROGRAMS THAT ARE RESPONSIVE TO NEEDS IN THE COMMUNITY, INCLUDING SENIOR SERVICES, AMP (SERVICE TRIP OPPORTUNITIES), HOME REPAIR, AND COMMUNITY SERVICES (AFFORDABLE CHRISTMAS, TAX PREP, AND VISTA). IN 2019, WE SUPPORTED 198 OLDER ADULTS BY PROVIDING 1,883 HOME REPAIR PROJECTS. THROUGH THESE HOME REPAIRS, WE WERE ABLE TO DECREASE THE HOUSING COST BURDEN, AND ALLOW THE HOMEOWNERS TO REMAIN SAFELY HOUSED WITHIN THEIR COMMUNITY. WE SAVED $68,054 IN MATERIAL COSTS AND 1,546 TOTAL LABOR HOURS FOR OUR CLIENTS IN 2019. A STABLE NEIGHBORHOOD ENVIRONMENT CONTRIBUTES TO HEALTH AND WELLNESS OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS. IN 2019, OUR AMP PROGRAM MOBILIZED 1,408 VOLUNTEERS WHO COMPLETED 8,360 HOURS OF SERVICE IN OUR EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMS. OUR ANNUAL AFFORDABLE CHRISTMAS STORE THAT WE SET UP EACH DECEMBER, AND A TAX RETURN PREPARATION PROGRAM EACH SPRING. THIS PAST CHRISTMAS WE SERVED 310 FAMILIES AND 1,067 YOUTHS WITH THE SUPPORT OF 350 VOLUNTEERS THROUGH OUR AFFORDABLE CHRISTMAS EVENT. FINALLY, WE WORK WITH THE CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE AS AN INTERMEDIARY AGENCY FOR AMERICORPS VISTA. WE SUB-GRANT VISTA MEMBERS TO SERVE AT NONPROFITS ACROSS MISSOURI TO ADDRESS ISSUES OF POVERTY. IN 2019, 103 VISTA MEMBERS SERVED AS FULL-TIME VOLUNTEERS FOR YEAR-LONG COMMITMENTS, PLACED AT 40 SITES.

BEYOND JOBS: UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDER-EMPLOYMENT CONTRIBUTES GREATLY TO THE GENERATIONAL CYCLE OF POVERTY IN ST. LOUIS. TO ADDRESS THIS, BEYOND JOBS IS A MULTI-PRONGED APPROACH TO CONNECTING PEOPLE WITH EMPLOYMENT. OVERWHELMINGLY, WE HAVE FOUND A MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY LACK BOTH THE HARD AND SOFT SKILLS TO BE JOB READY. TO ADDRESS THIS, JOB & LEADERSHIP TRAINING (JLT) PROVIDES JOB TRAINING, LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, RELATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY, AND EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES. IN 2019, 94% OF PARTICIPANTS WERE AFRICAN AMERICAN, 99% WERE LIVING BELOW POVERTY LEVEL, 86% WERE JUSTICE-INVOLVED, 31% DID NOT HAVE A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA/EQUIVALENT AND 96% OF PARTICIPANTS WERE UNEMPLOYED AT THE TIME OF ORIENTATION. WE ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO REALIZE THEIR INHERENT VALUE SO THAT THEY CAN ALSO RECOGNIZE THE VALUE OF COMMUNITY AND THEIR ABILITY TO BE POSITIVE INFLUENCERS WITHIN IT. EMPLOYMENT DRASTICALLY DECREASES STUDENTS' CHANCES OF RECIDIVISM AND INCREASES THEIR ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE, NUTRITIOUS FOOD, CHILDCARE, HOUSING AND TRANSPORTATION. STUDENTS MOVE FROM SURVIVAL MODE TO A STABLE AND SAFE CIRCUMSTANCE. JLT PROVIDES 14 MONTHS OF SUPPORT THAT BEGINS WITH AN 8-WEEK INTENSIVE PHASE THAT FOCUSES ON JOB SKILLS, FINANCIAL LITERACY, MANHOOD, AND AN INTERNSHIP. WE COLLABORATE WITH 20 EMPLOYERS WHO PROVIDE INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR ON-THE-JOB TRAINING TO DEVELOP NECESSARY SKILLS. IN 2019, 78 MEN GRADUATED JOB & LEADERSHIP TRAINING, 48% GAINED EMPLOYMENT DURING PHASE II, AND 88% OF EMPLOYED HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MAINTAIN CONSISTENT EMPLOYMENT 6 MONTHS POST-PROGRAM THUS FAR. A TOTAL OF 57 VOLUNTEERS MENTORED AND INVESTED THEIR TIME AND ENERGY IN THE PROGRAM. HIRE ST. LOUIS PLACED 16 OF GRADUATES INTO LIVING-WAGE POSITIONS.

BEYOND SCHOOL: YOUTH BORN INTO UNDER-RESOURCED COMMUNITIES FACE AN ACHIEVEMENT/OPPORTUNITY GAP THAT BECOMES APPARENT IN MIDDLE SCHOOL AND WIDENS IN HIGH SCHOOL. A MAJORITY OF OUR STUDENTS (79%) QUALIFY FOR FREE OR REDUCED LUNCH, INDICATING THAT STUDENTS COME FROM LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS. IN 2019, BEYOND SCHOOL ("BS") SERVED 213 STUDENTS ACROSS ALL SITES. AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, 66% OF BS STUDENTS WERE BELOW GRADE LEVEL IN READING AND 70% WERE BELOW GRADE LEVEL IN MATH. OF THE PROGRAMS REGULARLY ATTENDING STUDENTS, 86% OF PARTICIPANTS SHOW IMPROVEMENT IN TEST SCORES AND REPORT CARDS. TEACHERS REPORTED DIFFERENCES IN BS STUDENTS' ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND BEHAVIOR CHOICES IN THE CLASSROOM. AT LEAST 91% DEMONSTRATE THAT THEY HAVE DEVELOPED SOCIAL SKILLS (E.G., INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION, CONFLICT RESOLUTION) AS MEASURED BY THE PROPS, THINKSLIP DATA, AND SCHOOL REFERRAL DATA. IN ADDITION TO ENGAGING THE SCHOOL STAFF, WE ALSO ENGAGE WITH FAMILY WEEKLY. IN 2019, WE INCREASED OUR FAMILY ENGAGEMENT BY 57% IN STUDENT ACTIVITIES FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR FOR A TOTAL OF 187 PARENTS/GUARDIANS. PARENTS EXPRESSED SATISFACTION WITH THE RATE OF GROWTH OF THEIR CHILDREN AND APPRECIATED THE VARIED EXPERIENCES STUDENTS RECEIVE. THESE EXPERIENCES ARE PROVIDED THROUGH ENRICHMENT OPPORTUNITIES SUCH AS AEROSPACE, DANCE, COOKING, MARTIAL ARTS, FIELD TRIPS, AND VISUAL ARTS. STUDENT-LED COMMUNITY SERVICES ACTIVITIES ARE ALSO OFFERED (33 IN 2019). THESE COLLABORATIVE AND INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES ALLOW STUDENTS TO EXPLORE POSSIBILITIES FOR FUTURE CAREERS, CONSTRUCTIVE HOBBIES, AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO BE COMMUNITY-ORIENTED.

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