The Annual Catholic Appeal has granted Room at the Inn a $150,000 grant through the Affordable Housing Fund. Room at the Inn helps clients identify the underlying causes of their homelessness, regain self-sufficiency and avoid future episodes of homelessness. Armoni Marshall, 3, stays at the facility with her mother, Bridgett Battle, and played there on July 16.
Eight organizations have been awarded $1 million in funding through a newly established Affordable Housing Fund through the Annual Catholic Appeal.
Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski called upon the appeal to dedicate funds from its reserves to establish the Affordable Housing Fund. The archdiocese’s All Things New social outreach subcommittee identified in a 2023 report that affordable housing is among the most pressing unmet needs for struggling families.
The ACA said the fund will help social service organizations increase their capacity to serve those needing safe, stable and affordable housing by increasing housing inventory and expanding outreach to underserved communities.
“While we cannot solve the affordable housing crisis with any one effort, we can work together to make a difference for many families by providing safe and welcoming places to call home, and support as they address other challenges that can lead to homelessness,” Archbishop Rozanski said in a press release. “This is what we are called to do, to be witnesses to the love of Christ through word and action.”
Room at the Inn has received $150,000 from the ACA, which will go toward renovating and expanding living and service space at its family shelter in Bridgeton. Founded by the Sisters of Divine Providence, the organization currently serves up to 20 people and helps clients identify the underlying causes of their homelessness, regain self-sufficiency and avoid future episodes of homelessness.
During the pandemic, Room at the Inn eliminated the use of night sites at congregations throughout St. Louis County and St. Charles County, moving all services to its Bridgeton site. The expansion, part of a $2.8 million capital campaign, will allow Room at the Inn to accommodate up to 35 people, expand counseling rooms, a nurse’s office and kitchen space, and add new rooms, including a library and technology room, executive director Laurie Phillips said.
“That’s a significant jump for us in terms of what we can do for families in the region,” Phillips said, adding that family homelessness has increased 13% from 2023 to 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “This is going to allow us to make these renovations that will not only provide increased client space, but more and better service provisions for us.”
St. Joseph Housing Initiative, a faith-based, nonprofit organization that produces housing for low- and moderate-income families in the St. Louis area, will receive $100,000 toward housing renovations.
The organization has completed and sold 14 houses in the Dutchtown neighborhood of St. Louis and last year expanded into the Baden neighborhood in St. Louis, where renovation work on three houses is nearing completion.
St. Joseph Housing Initiative helps create vibrant communities by taking vacant properties that cause a variety of issues in neighborhoods and transform them into affordable, owner-occupied homes, executive director Maureen McCuen said.
“These funds are directly related to helping us put our mission into action by supporting both families and neighborhoods,” she said. “We are fully funded by grants and donations, so this is a great opportunity for us to take on more houses and fill that gap.”
The Annual Catholic Appeal also has awarded the following grants to these organizations:
Assisi House: $100,000 toward its seventh house, to be located at the former convent at St. Nicholas Church in north St. Louis. Read more at stlreview.com/3Lrs2BJ
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Louis: $175,000 toward a new housing complex in Troy, which will complement Bridge of Hope in Lincoln County. Read more at stlreview.com/4637NUx
Peter & Paul Community Services: $150,000 for renovation of 15 permanent supportive housing apartments at its new Peter & Paul Community Campus (former Little Sisters of the Poor Residence in north St. Louis). Read more at stlreview.com/469Xdv2
Assisi House received a $100,000 grant from the Annual Catholic Appeal’s Affordable Housing Fund to help renovate a seventh house. Assisi House offers housing in small, communal settings for people who are homeless or facing housing insecurity. Linda Broch lives at the Assisi House facility at Our Lady of the Holy Cross in the Baden neighborhood in St. Louis.
Room at the Inn: $150,000 to renovate and expand living and service space at family shelter in Bridgeton.
Sts. Joachim & Ann Care Service: $175,000 to expand outreach services in St. Charles, Lincoln and Warren counties. Read more at stlreview.com/4cTFEkW
St. Joseph Housing Initiative: $100,000 toward home renovations. Read more at stlreview.com/3S9oN5Q
St. Patrick Center: $100,000 renovations to provide permanent supportive housing at Visitation House in north St. Louis. Read more at stlreview.com/3W9FhvR
Hearts, Hands and Homes: A $50,000 grant was awarded to the ecumenical housing initiative to fulfill the balance of a commitment from the archdiocese to raise $1 million toward the initiative. Read more at stlreview.com/3Y26MKb
Peter & Paul Community Services has received $150,000 from the Annual Catholic Appeal’s Affordable Housing Fund for renovation of 15 permanent supportive housing apartments at its new Peter & Paul Community Campus (former Little Sisters of the Poor Residence in north St. Louis). Peter & Paul outgrew its shelter at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Soulard, where Stanley Goforth stayed.
