Every winter night in St. Louis, people are faced with exhaustion and dangerous exposure. In the Wellston Loop and across west St. Louis, unhoused residents are walking two to three hours just to reach a warming shelter—if there’s space when they arrive. This is a failure of planning and priorities.

This winter, advocates, service providers, and people experiencing homelessness came together outside the Wellston Loop Community Development Corporation to ask the city for what should already exist: a safe, accessible place to sleep when temperatures drop. Their request is simple and urgent—open a west-side overnight shelter now, and commit to a permanent solution.

The need is undeniable. Many residents were displaced by the May 16 tornado and are still struggling to find stable housing. Daytime shelters and mutual aid groups are doing everything they can, but they cannot replace the role of city leadership. When transportation is canceled or beds are full, people in wheelchairs, people with injuries, and people with pets are left outside in dangerous conditions. No one should be turned away because the weather is “not cold enough” to qualify for help.

We are calling on Mayor Cara Spencer, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, and the City of St. Louis Department of Human Services to act immediately by opening an overnight shelter on the west side for the remainder of this winter, establishing 24/7 warming centers from October through February, and adjusting the Code Blue threshold so help begins before conditions become life-threatening. The city should also work with community partners to use vacant buildings as temporary shelters and finally release delayed funding so trusted neighborhood organizations can expand their services.

This is not about politics. It is about dignity, safety, and shared responsibility. St. Louis has the resources and the compassion to do better—if leaders choose to listen to the people most affected.