Archdiocese of St. Louis award grants to serve those in need of affordable housing

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - In 2023, an Archdiocese report found that affordable housing was a top need for the region.

Since then, the church has put away funds from the Annual Catholic Appeal to establish an Affordable Housing Fund.

Recently, the church awarded $1 million to 10 regional groups that are working to help serve those in need of safe and affordable housing.

"When we began the 'All Things New' Initiative almost three years ago, we studied in 15 different regions of our Archdiocese the social needs and what would help in those regions," said St. Louis Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski on Total Information A.M. Wednesday. "In 12 of those regions, affordable housing and homelessness came up as big social issue. That spoke volumes to us."

Rozanski says a 2021 St. Louis Housing Report really affirmed what the Archdiocese of St. Louis found in their study when it comes to the need for affordable housing in the region.

"When we saw that, we said 'let's get to work and do something about this,'" said Rozanski. "Affordable housing a premium in not only in St. Louis, but the surrounding 10 counties that comprise the Archdiocese of St. Louis."

Among the groups the church is partnering with is Assisi House, a non-profit organizations that converts abandoned buildings into housing for homeless. Rozanski says that wasn't the only trait that highlighted the Assisi House.

"Not only that, they help (the homeless) with skills," said Rozanski. "They give them a base from where to work, they help them with skills and then allow them to go out to work."

Another group they are working with is the St. Joseph Housing Initiative, which works on getting families into a home that they can actually own.

"We know for the citizens of this country, the greatest equity they can build up is owning a home," said Rozanski. "It's something our great-grandparents and grandparents strove to do when they came to country from all over the world. They wanted to build equity in homes."

Rozanski says each of the 10 organizations they gave grants to "brings stability to the life who come to them and find either housing they can afford either through rent or through purchasing the house."