Discover how St. Louis residents are uniting to aid those affected by disaster, with donation centers, volunteer mobilization, and community efforts demonstrating regional resilience and compassion.
How to Get and Give Help
When disaster strikes, it gives us an opportunity to come together—and St. Louis has done just that. The outpouring of support and aid from all corners of the region has been astounding. So many residents are reaching out to find ways to help that, at one point, the City has had to tell them to stand down until the most affected areas were stabilized. Donation centers have opened up from north to south, volunteer organizations have mobilized, and neighbors are grabbing their work gloves and going block to block, clearing parks, lawns, and streets.
Now that we’re a few days out, a more strategic, organized volunteering effort is taking shape. From the very second the tornado ended, dozens of community organizations, such as Action St. Louis and For the Culture, got to work—getting supplies to those in need and cleaning affected areas. In addition to these more organized efforts, informal, neighborhood-led efforts have sprung up across the City. Contact your alder or nonprofits in your community to see if there’s any way you can get involved.
If you’re unable to provide boots-on-the-ground aid for any reason, there are other ways to help. The City’s website has a link to donate monetarily to support recovery efforts. Additionally, there are sites across the City where you can donate physical supplies, such as water, non-perishable food, diapers, power banks, and equipment.
I will list several resources below, but if you want more information, a resident (Joshua Lawrence, aka STL PoliticClips) has kindly put together a map of assistance locations and third spaces where residents can find help or a place to stay. Use this link to access the map.
Shelter Locations
12th & Park Recreation Center
1410 S Tucker Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63104
Friendly Temple Outreach Center
6356 Dr. Martin Luther King Dr, St. Louis, MO 63133
Refresh Community Church
929 North Hanley Road, St. Louis, MO 63130
Donation & Supplies Locations
O’Fallon Park Rec Complex
4343 W Florissant Ave, St. Louis, MO 63115
Urban League of Metro St. Louis
1408 Kingshighway Blvd, Suite 108, St. Louis, MO 63113
The Ville Donation Site
4144 Martin Luther King Dr, St. Louis, MO 63113
Power Creative St. Louis
3221 Oak Hill Ave, St. Louis, MO 63116
This is not an exhaustive list of resources. I will keep residents informed on new locations or any change in plans. Make sure you follow me on Instagram for minute-to-minute information: @saintlouispres.
In the first few days, the outpouring of support from residents made the difference.
What’s Next?
The City is anticipating further severe weather tonight into tomorrow. If your home was affected, officials are urging you to cover your valuables with tarps and board up doors and windows. While the storms tonight are not expected to produce a tornado, even strong winds could cause serious damage to a house that is dealing with structural issues from Friday’s storm. So please do not stay in your damaged home; find shelter elsewhere. The local nonprofit Dream Builders 4 Equity is assisting residents with securing their homes. You can fill out a form for assistance here.
While out in the community over the weekend, I received many questions from residents about the state of emergency and receiving federal assistance.
The City has already declared a state of emergency, and the state is extending the state of emergency it called for a few weeks ago, which would enable access to federal resources through FEMA. However, it is important to note that the timeline for receiving federal help is in flux. The last time the City was granted these resources (the July 2022 floods) it took several weeks. Considering the recent cuts to federal departments, including FEMA, it could take longer this time. For that reason, we’re asking residents from the City and surrounding region to continue giving their time and resources to those who need it most.
In the meantime, it’s important to note that, despite rumors to the contrary, FEMA is not on the ground in St. Louis at this very moment. If someone approaches you claiming they are from FEMA, please report them to the police. When actual federal officials arrive, City officials will let you know.
We also know that many residents are still without power. Since the start of Friday’s storms, Ameren has restored service to over 117,000 customers, but there are still tens of thousands remaining. This will be a multi-day effort. Over 300 power poles were damaged and need to be replaced, each of which can take several hours. Please continue to report power outages and downed power lines. Please assume any downed wire is live—do not touch them. Please be patient while Ameren makes their way across the region.
As outlined by Superintendent Borishade, many school buildings were affected by Friday’s storm. A damage assessment is underway, but there is no solid timeline on when each building will be up and running again. In the meantime, students are being redirected to operational buildings for the last remaining days of school. Due to storm damage at the bus depot, transportation is in flux. At this point, buses are not operational.
While the focus is on lives and homes, many small businesses were damaged in the storms. At this time, the St. Louis Development Corporation is helping business-owners assess sustained damage. Use this link if you are in need of assistance.
Moving Forward
I want to express my gratitude for all who came out to help clean up this weekend. That includes residents from the City and surrounding communities, the City workers who worked 12-hour shifts all weekend, the first responders, and the organizations that spent their time and money helping those in the most critical need. Seeing our City come together over the last few days has been incredibly inspiring, and I’m hopeful that it’s a sign of what we can do moving forward.
Recovery takes time, and it certainly won’t be easy. But I believe in St. Louis. Neighbors opened their homes. Volunteers brought food, water, and supplies. Teams worked tirelessly to clear streets. That spirit of solidarity is what makes this city special. We may be critical at times, we may not agree on everything, but we all love our home.
We’ll move forward together—block by block, neighbor by neighbor—stronger and more united than we were before. Thank you for being part of that work.
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