Inside the first-ever St. Louis Housing Summit, where one group is trying to solve the issue of homelessness

Teka Childress climbs atop a small chair in Christ Church Cathedral’s fourth-floor auditorium. She has clipped gray hair, thick glasses, and, in her hand, a small piece of lined paper ripped from a nearby notebook. This will be her last announcement, she loudly tells the more than 50 people milling about noisily. The room quiets down.

“If you’d be willing to carry these ideas forward, please sign your name here,” she announces.

As people rush toward her, she clamors for a larger piece of paper.

More than 200 stakeholders—including housing developers, local politicians, social workers, shelter providers, and unhoused members of the community—have gathered here for the first-ever St. Louis Housing Summit. The event was organized by around 20 people, Childress included, to address homelessness in the St. Louis area.

The summit began at 9 a.m. on September 21. In the morning, participants discussed and attempted to understand the main issues facing unhoused individuals, exchanging their viewpoints. In the afternoon, attendees brainstormed ways to address the barriers to finding housing and obtaining services.

“The most important thing is to realize that over the past several decades, we’ve left a lot of people behind through all kinds of systemic issues,” Childress says. “And while it’s a very difficult situation and people are suffering, there are a hundred things we can do about it, and we need to keep looking at.”

Participants of all ages and backgrounds huddle around tables with white poster-size paper, Crayola markers in hand. One poster is titled “decriminalization” in large blue letters. Various nonprofit names and funding organizations fill the sheets. The posters’ creators have spent most of the day in such small-group discussions, centering mainly on the topics of housing development, management, ongoing needs, emergency needs, and policy changes.

“What I’ve learned in this session, is there are a lot of people that are impacted in a lot of different ways. There’s pain, anxiety, and a critical timeline associated with the issue of homelessness, especially for those experiencing it,” Kathy Connors, executive director at Missouri’s largest family shelter, Gateway 180, said. “We really need to be responsive, we need to be hearing them, and we need to figure out what we can do to be more solution-oriented for those individuals.”

After these breakout sessions conclude around 3 p.m., participants gather in the church’s main chapel on the lower level to share some of these solutions. A representative from each of the groups takes the stage, one after another.

One representative shares a poster about possible economic policy solutions: tax increment financing, when public funds are put toward redevelopment and infrastructure, and tax abatement, a reduction in taxes.

Another discusses a system in Utah in which unhoused individuals are issued an identification card to help regulate resources and services.

Mike Baldwin, the former executive director of housing development Pruitt-Igoe, has both a background in social work and real estate. At the summit, he spoke about his vision of so-called “tiny houses.” His concept involves 26 homes, each around 375 square feet, roughly the size of a large cargo container.

Now, he says, housing options are limited. He has a friend who was formerly homeless and now lives in a government-funded two-bedroom apartment for $800 per month. That turns out to be almost $10,000 per year.

“Once upon a time, I went to a housing conference where someone said, ‘We’re doing tiny houses in Portland and in Austin and in Wisconsin.’ And I went: ‘For homeless people? That’s a great idea,’” Baldwin says. “Because it’s cheap enough to build and for them to own, which means you don’t have that ongoing expense of $10,000 per year.”

The group behind the initiative, Baldwin says, has secured preliminary city approval, and is seeking site development financing. They’re working with an architect on the concept, and building a social media presence.

An initially quiet young woman in a neon-orange T-shirt takes the stage. Her name is Crystal Smith, and she became homeless in St. Louis at the age of 12. By age 15, she says she was battling drug addiction.

“What I would like to see as far as decriminalization goes—I want them to stop taking the stuff we need to survive. They send the workers through and apologize to us after they take it, but they collect our clothing, and our bags, and our sleeping bags,” Smith says. “And then they leave us without the things that we need to survive, and there’s nowhere for us to go.”

Now an adult, Smith has founded Jesus in Disguise Ministry, which, she explains, tries to rehabilitate unhoused individuals spiritually, while also getting them off the streets. She also called out government entities that she felt had shut her down, and made clear that she was speaking not only for herself, but also for others in her position. Her impassioned speech culminates in a standing ovation.

Once every small group has shared their ideas, Childress takes the microphone for questions. One man asks what the next step will be. It’s joining the ideas and gaps and solutions, and scheduling a follow-up meeting, Childress says.

Then, a man in the back quietly stands up: “Before you convene, on behalf of the homeless, I wanted to thank everybody for coming, for helping us out. And I want you all to be encouraged to continue to help us.”

Childress asks the room repeatedly: “Are we stopping today?”

“No,” they call back.

“What are we leaving with?” Childress asks. “Call out something.”

The responses are so rapid-fire that they overlap.

“Happiness.”

“Determination.”

“Teamwork.”

“Encouragement.”

“Inspiration.”

“Motivation.”

“Faith.”

“Love.”

“Courage.”