City of St. Joseph and Community Missions announce joint efforts to reduce homelessness
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- As St. Joseph continues to face complex challenges regarding unsheltered homelessness, local organizations and law enforcement are combining resources in an effort to create a solution moving forward.
The City of St. Joseph, Community Missions and the St. Joseph Police Department will work in lockstep to maintain health and safety along with providing services for all residents, including those in outdoor encampments, as part of a new partnership to respond to the city's homelessness situation.
Addressing health concerns for unsheltered during the winter season and the need to reduce the number of homeless encampments, which is estimated to be above 80, were the top reasons for carrying out the new partnership announced on Monday.
"There's been health challenges associated with the cold, and we feel like it's time to reach out and give folks the help they need," City Manager Mike Schumacher said. "The last (homeless encampment) count, which is a lose count, was 84 camps. We look at how many of those are vacant, how much bigger are some compared to others. They all present an opportunity to improve the lives of the people who are living out the elements."
The joint partnership will see members of each organization making contact and engaging with individuals living at an encampment site prior to the encampment being cleared out. While the SJPD will be on-hand for these visits, they are solely there for protection and safety purposes.
Individuals will receive at least three separate contacts to inform them of upcoming changes, offer shelter and services and be able to get information for support options.
This includes the "My Brothers House" 24-hour shelter service that opened back on July 1, 2025. Rachael Bittiker, the executive director of Community Missions, detailed what the partnership means for Community Missions and the 24-hour shelter, which saw roughly 400 people come through since it's inception in July.
"What we're hoping to get out of this and with the 24-hour shelter day, is giving people somewhere to go to. There was no individual shelter in this community after the Salvation Army had closed their individual shelter several years ago," Bittiker said. "We had resources for domestic violence, but there was no shelter for men or women on the streets. The problem we experienced as social workers or case managers was trying to make contact with individuals that really wished to not be found."
Bittiker is hopeful the effort will make a difference in the community moving forward, especially during the process of transitioning people from the shelter to becoming productive and self-sufficient members of society
"What I see is this effort happening and some other things being worked on that I think will make a difference in our community. Hopefully we're able to transition people at a quicker rate out of the shelter to become productive members of society and be self-sufficient. That's the goal for everybody."
The joint effort to reduce encampments will begin in the near future, with specific locations being targeted that are identified as particularity harmful or dangerous.
In closing remarks, Schumacher stressed that while the partnership won't immediately alleviate issues, action needs to be taken.
"Here's what we do know, doing nothing won't work," Schumacher said." I want to make sure to manage expectations that this effort isn't going to all of a sudden remove homelessness from St. Joe or any other community. This is a national issue, but the population deserves our efforts and our attention to try and help them get out of these conditions."
