Messenger: On #VeteransDay, a small step in #StLouis toward reducing homelessness
by Tony Messenger, November 11, 2026
"America talks a good game when it comes to supporting our nation’s veterans.
"On Veterans Day, and the Fourth of July and Memorial Day, we hang our flags high and thank veterans for their service. On Saturdays and Sundays, we watch college and pro football, with players and coaches wearing special 'salute to veterans' patches and hats. We direct our eyes to the sky during the F-18 flyovers and salute the veterans in our midst.
"Beyond our patriotic gestures, reality tells a different story.
"Congress often falls short when it comes to funding the #VeteransAdministration , leaving gaps in healthcare services. Veterans come home from forever wars with forever problems, from PTSD to drug addiction, and our government is often slow to help.
"That’s why more than 32,000 veterans experienced homelessness last year, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. There’s a nugget of good news in that number: it’s been declining nationally since 2009. Still, more than 13,000 veterans who have experienced #homelessness are #unsheltered, meaning they’re living on the streets, under a bridge or in a tent in the woods.
"But here’s another bit of good news: in a couple of weeks, about 15 veterans living on the streets in St. Louis will have a new option. The nonprofit Peter & Paul Community Services is opening a floor for veterans on its community campus in north St. Louis. The #TransitionalHousing, which will include counseling and case management services, will be funded by the VA.
" 'We’ve seen more and more veterans come through our system,' says Anthony D’Agostino, the CEO of Peter & Paul. 'Until now, we didn’t have a place on our campus to put them.'
"Peter & Paul moved into the former Little Sisters of the Poor Building on North Florissant Avenue in 2024, with the help of the city and funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act. Since then, it has slowly been opening each of the eight floors of the facility and partnering with other nonprofits to serve different groups of people in danger of homelessness.
"There’s a medical respite floor operated by the nonprofit Three Steps Home, the first of its kind in St. Louis, to help folks who still need medical care after a hospital release. There’s a floor for people with developmental disabilities, and another for families.
"The facility has housed people who lost their homes in the 2025 #tornado and, more recently, those who were kicked out of the #MarkTwainBuilding downtown.
"The 15 veterans’ units, each with their own small apartment, will add to about 127 apartments or other facilities in St. Louis run by nonprofits and targeted to veterans. There is the #TinyHomes community on #NorthGrand, opened in 2023 and run by the Veterans Community Project. St. Patrick’s Center’s operates 47 apartments for veterans at its #ProjectHERO site at Freedom Place on Delmar Boulevard. And the Criminal Justice Ministry has long served veterans who need a place to stay following a prison sentence.
"Together, the various nonprofits will have almost enough units for the estimated 150 veterans living on the streets in St. Louis, according to the most recent estimate. It’s progress, but D’Agostino says there are likely more people facing homelessness than the annual HUD #PointInTime counts can identify, as well as several in outlying counties who often end up in St. Louis seeking services.
"The population offers a paradox for folks who work to end homelessness. Veterans are at a higher risk for homelessness because of the trauma they have suffered, and they often are in more need of mental-health and other services. But veterans also have access to VA and other services, which can help nonprofits working with them — if those nonprofits can get them into shelters and transitional housing.
"Too many American veterans have no shelter over their heads as temperatures drop and winter nears. Let’s save our empty salutes until all of them have a place they can call home."
#SaintLouisMO #StLouisMO #Missouri #Unhoused #PTSD #HomelessVeterans
#Veterans #USPol #WinterIsComing #ExtremeWeather #HousingForAll #PointInTimeCounts #VeteransServices #Veterans