Who We Help

There are homeless people in St. Louis County?

Many people are surprised to learn that homelessness is an issue in the St. Louis County community. Of course, if even a small number of people have no place to live, it’s a problem. In fact, it’s not a small number. The Homeless Hotline receives thousands of calls every year from residents of St. Louis County. More than 200 of those people wind up at Room at the Inn.

So who are the homeless?

Who are the people who come to Room at the Inn, as the last resort to sleeping in their cars? (And many of our clients have done that!) Room at the Inn provides shelter for:

The working poor. Angela rises early and works hard at a daycare center, but her paycheck can’t stretch far enough to cover rent and utilities, on top of her two children’s other needs.

Tenants who have paid their rent, but whose landlords have not paid their mortgage. Janean arrived at Room at the Inn with six children, all innocent victims of the housing crisis. They had less than a week’s notice to vacate, even though Janean had never missed a rent payment.

Families living paycheck to paycheck, for whom an unexpected medical or repair bill cost them their housing. Johnny and Iris both work unskilled, low-paying jobs. When Johnny suffered a back injury and couldn’t work, they wound up at Room at the Inn.

Mothers striving to escape dangerous living conditions and provide a better future for their children. Marguerite was terrified to leave her husband – and terrified to stay. While she knows she will have trouble raising her three kids on her own, she realized it was a better option than allowing them to be surrounded by anger, violence and fear.

Women and families who’ve exhausted every other option. Most of our clients have already stayed with family and friends. A homeless shelter is a last resort.

Room at the Inn homeless facts:

  • Minor children make up almost half of Room at the Inn’s homeless clients.
  • About one in five of the clients of Room at the Inn have NO income.
  • Nearly all of Room at the Inn’s clients have incomes below the Federal Poverty Guidelines as defined by the Department of Health & Human Services.
  • In 2008, the Homeless Hotline responded to more than 11,000 calls for housing help from residents of St. Louis County.