February 7, 2018
Bringing hope to the homeless
Around Town
Warren County Senior Center receives Cuivre River Electric Cooperative grant. P.4 Play and Learn with St. Charles county parks. P.5 Free tax prep available for low and moderateincome households. P.5
School WSD students artwork showcased at SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital. P.8 Francis Howell School District establishes lunch heroes program. P.8
Learn & Play Photo by Brett Auten Sts. Joachim and Ann Social Service staff members (from left) Kirsten Lacroix, Juanita Schultz, and Laura Steinhoff prepare to take goods out to the homeless as part of the Street Outreach Program. The Street Outreach Program began in April 2016 with case managers reaching out to those in need where they are.
Sts. Joachim and Ann Care Service’s Street Outreach Program seeks out the homeless and brings basic needs to them By Brett Auten An offshoot of a long-established, longtime main player in homeless services in the tri-county area is trying to ease the homeless situation one visit at a time. Sts. Joachim and Ann Care Service launched the Street Outreach Program in April 2016 to not only serve those in crisis but also reduce homelessness. The program came from a need to assist, in particular, single men in St. Charles, Lincoln and Warren counties who are homeless and providing them with an array of basic needs, case management, housing options and access to health care. The Street Outreach Program works like this: a staff member either seeks out, or has already identified and built a relationship with, an individual who is unsheltered to identify their needs, which could be aplenty; from simple housing, food, clothing, or in some cases, medical attention. “In those early days, we were out in the woods, walking along the river banks,” Laura Steinhoff said. “It has really evolved, grown and thrived and have seen lot of these guys actually housed.” Building the must-needed trust is not
something that can be done overnight. It takes being there, rain or shine – both in actuality and metaphorically. “It has taken weekly visits and I meet them right where they are,” Steinhoff said. “I meet them when they’re drinking. I meet them when they’re sad. And I meet them when they’re sober and happy. I’m there every week, sometimes twice a week and I have just built this relationship with them. It used to be when I pulled up, and they would kind of scatter. Now it’s like, ‘Laura’s here.’ So now it’s good and some of them are the kindest, most gentle human beings I have met in my life.” SSM Health St Joseph Hospital – St Charles agreed to partner with the Care Service. A St. Joseph Hospital emergency medical technician, nurse or other health care professional accompanies case managers on outreach visits to provide medical and psychiatric support, performing anything from checking vitals or tending dress wounds to the need emergency care. “We provide these important resources to groups within our community who are most in need,” Mike Bowers, president of SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital – St. Charles, said. “It’s our hope that serving
these people in a proactive manner will help lead them to healthy and stable lifestyles.” The spirit of the Street Outreach Program is that you cannot wait for those who are already in crisis to find their way to care or information. Although other organizations operate street outreach programs for youth and veterans, according to Pam Struckhoff, Director of Programs, there are no other efforts of this kind in the area for single men. Struckhoff said that a street outreach program that works primarily with single men is something the community has wanted but until now has never been able to achieve. Looking forward, Struckhoff would like to work with other health systems and have more landlords buy into the “housing first” concept. Continue to grow and house people we have and get most vulnerable off the street and make tri-county a better place The Care Service currently manages six transitional properties in which clients are monitored extensively on all aspects of being a good tenant. See ‘HOMELESS’ page 2
Serving St. Louis, St. Charles, and Lincoln Counties | FREE Online at mycnews.com | Vol. 20 No. 6 | 636-379-1775
Throw a hot-pot dinner party. P.11
Movie
‘Black Panther’ leads a bumper crop of 2018 Marvel movies. P.16
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