Organization
Formed out of the Journey Church in 2006, Mission: St. Louis exists to restore the city of St. Louis by empowering people to transform their lives, families, and neighborhoods. Their services fall into 3 main buckets and are driven by a commitment to developing relationships, empowering others, and creating opportunity:
- Beyond School accelerates social, emotional, and academic growth of 245 K-8th graders in need of learning recovery. The program is embedded onsite at three charter schools where our team provides individualized academic lessons, social/emotional learning curriculum, STEM enrichment, and community service activities.
- Beyond Jobs is a workforce development program that removes barriers to employment for under-resourced individuals. This program expanded in 2019 to include coordinated wraparound services, called Employment and Community Health as One (EACH1) to support participants in finding an integrated path to economic stability and hope. EACH1 brings together multiple organizations onsite to offer integrated services, resources, and support.
- Beyond Charity is a set of programs that are responsive to community needs, including the Home Repair Program, Affordable Christmas, and the Essentials Drive.
Partnership #1 (2014)
Mission: St. Louis launched a thrift store to complement their existing model. The thrift store was designed to accomplish three things. First, it provides access to low-cost goods for the impoverished residents of their community (a need discovered through a community needs assessment). Next, it provides workplace experience for students in their job training program, helping ensure graduates are successfully prepared for employment. Finally, the store generates ongoing revenue for their organization, providing for a more sustainable future. To ensure success in carrying out the launch of a store, they identified a consultant who has a proven track record of launching successful stores in similar locations. The Brown Sisters Foundation invested in a matching grant to raise the seed capital needed to launch this thrift store.
Partnership #2 (2019)
The agency sought funding to help launch an innovative co-working space and services collaboration, called EACH1, to support and equip people (particularly those living in north St. Louis city) to improve their long-term health and economic mobility by providing integrated services in one location. The goals are to increase access to care, improve daily functioning, increase employment, and promote long-term self-sufficiency. Core partners – St. Louis University, St. Louis Integrated Health Network, and CareSTL (a federally qualified health clinic) – will collaborate with Mission St. Louis on the project. Additional agencies will serve as referral sources and may eventually come on as a core partner as the project grows. Workforce readiness and wellness services to be provided include case management, substance use treatment, mental health counseling, occupational therapy, legal support, financial empowerment, employment training/placement, mentoring, leadership development, and transportation. Community Health Workers (people who come from and are familiar with the community and available resources) will coordinate services, ensuring services are accessed and coordinated. The Brown Sisters Foundation issued a challenge grant to attract new and increased donations to help launch this new, innovative program.
Partnership #3 (2022)
In 2016, Mission: St. Louis relocated to 3108 N. Grand Blvd. to rent a former YMCA building on the northside of St. Louis City, an area that is marked by years of disinvestment that has resulted in significant racial, economic, and health disparities. Since moving, Mission: STL expanded their core programs and brought in new partners to include job training, a legal clinic, substance use and mental health services, and home repair programs. To sustain and expand these efforts, Mission: STL has purchased the building and plans to create the North Grand Equity Accelerator. Mission: STL sought to establish an Annual Maintenance Fund in order to ensure the building is continually in good repair, ensure continuous operations of programming, and to invest in the built infrastructure of the Northside, all in service of Mission: St. Louis’ overarching goal for people in North City to have the opportunity to grow their social and economic mobility, creating generational advancement and longevity. The Brown Sisters Foundation issued a challenge grant to attract new and increased donors to support the organization’s growth, and to provide initial funding for this building maintenance fund.