Some unhoused advocates say city leaders should be doing more during extremely cold temperatures

By Jenna Rae

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    ST. LOUIS, Missouri (KMOV) — Despite temperatures on the rise the next few days, we’re still experiencing below-freezing temperatures. Dozens of unhoused neighbors in St. Louis City are continuing to brave the cold. However, after some city services couldn’t offer a warm place, one non-profit is coming forward saying the city should’ve planned better.

“As you can see it’s rough out here. [It’s] heartbreaking, anger into numbness,” Ramona Curtis explained.

Curtis, who’s an advocate for the unhoused, said that’s how she’s feeling after this past week of dangerously cold weather. Curtis founded Unhoused STL and volunteers for St. Louis Winter Outreach. She said this year, a crucial step in the process of helping the unhoused is missing. She’s referring to warming buses that were typically funded by the city.

“In the past years when there was a warming bus here, this was known by word-of-mouth in the unhoused community as the place to come. Now, they don’t know where to come and we don’t know where to find them,” Curtis said.

The warming bus used to sit across from City Hall at 13th and Chestnut. Now, non-profits, like St. Louis Winter Outreach, are opening their own warming centers. City leaders opened some too. Early last week, the city announced 18 warming centers would be available. On Thursday, the coldest day of the year so far, 16 of the 18 were closed.

“The city should be accountable for ensuring the safety of the unhoused community, and they’re not doing their job,” Curtis said.

City data shows more than $15M is allocated to fund the unhoused through COVID American Relief Plan Act funding. Nearly $5M has been spent, and more than $4M was used for emergency shelters alone.

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