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Jan. 27, 2025 |  By: Chrystal Blair - Public News Service

St. Louis shelters face higher demand and fewer donations during cold snap

homeless

By Chrystal Blair - Public News Service

The recent cold snap in St. Louis has led to a surge in demand for homeless shelters, while donations have dwindled and shelters are calling on the community to lend a hand to those in need.

Loaves and Fishes for St. Louis served 500,000 meals and welcomed more than 600 people to their shelters in 2024.

Jackie Macintosh, CEO of the organization, said recent extreme temperatures have caused heavy snow and ice, making it challenging for donation deliveries, among other difficulties.

"Individuals have not been able to get out the way that they normally do to deliver the donations or to bring donations in," Macintosh pointed out. "Then on top of it, you have the natural disasters with the wildfires in L.A. and other things that are going on in the country that are making people nervous about giving."

To help those in need, donors can visit the organization at its Concourse Drive location, or donate online through its website or Facebook page.

Macintosh emphasized the group's food pantry serves mainly fixed-income seniors, with most walk-ins being men. But the most pressing need at their shelters is for children, who represent the largest group seeking refuge. She shared the story of a young mother and her child, homeless during a snowstorm.

"About two years ago we had a young veteran mother," Macintosh recounted. "She had created a bunker in the snow. She had chiseled a hole and she had shoved her son in there with a bunch of blankets - and was using a blanket to cover the entrance of the snow drift."

In St. Louis, about 25% of the homeless population is made up of families with children in need of support and resources.