May 23, 2022

Congresswoman Bush Selects Fifteen St. Louis Projects for FY23 Federal Community Funding Projects

ST. LOUIS, MO — Today, Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01) announced the fifteen requests totaling over $24 million that her office put forward for the Fiscal Year 2023 Community Project Funding process. 

Each United States Representative is permitted to request funding for the upcoming Fiscal Year for up to fifteen Community Project initiatives in their district with demonstrated community support. Only state and local governments and eligible non-profit entities are permitted to receive funding. Last year, members were allowed up to ten requests. As part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, Congresswoman Bush successfully secured full funding for all 10 of her submitted projects, totaling more than $9 million. For a full list of last year’s projects, click here. 

“The work so many folks are doing right here in St. Louis is rooted in a commitment to save lives and build a more equitable and just community,” said Congresswoman Bush. “We received dozens and dozens of exemplary project proposals this year making this an exceptionally tough decision. While I would have loved to have chosen every project, Members were given just fifteen. This year’s selections, totaling over $24 million, are shovel ready projects and each one is committed to providing equitable, lifesaving investments in our community. From substance use and harm reduction services to affordable housing and education programs, I am excited to continue to advocate for these St. Louis projects as they make their way through the formal process in D.C., and look forward to bringing home even more funding than we did last year.”

The fifteen selected projects are outlined below: 

  1. Power4STL, $3,000,000.00 - Power4STL’s the T: Harm Reduction Center will provide healing resources to communities previously subjected to unprecedented loss of life due to opioid overdose and violence, with death disproportionately impacting the lives of the Black community. This includes a holistic approach to harm reduction through direct service, utilizing a team of community health workers and advocates, trauma responsive clinicians, and numerous mobile and in person services and resources. 

  2. LIFE Housing Project, Child and Family Empowerment Center, $1,812,891.00 - The LIFE Housing Project addresses the housing disparities in North St Louis City and North St. Louis County, MO by serving people ages 18 and older who have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder, specifically by focusing on people with a substance use disorder. CAFE receives referrals from area SUD treatment Centers, Behavioral Health Providers and Recovery Support Organizations. The project will house approximately 75 men, women, and their children in North St. Louis City.

  3. In-School Mental Health/Anti-Violence Programming, Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri, $70,000.00 - The In-School Mental Health & Anti-Violence Programming from the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri will serve elementary students (all genders) in grades K-5, Be a Friend First that serves girls in grades 6th-8th grade, and Transform Ur Future for high school students and each addresses critical issues that students face at each stage of their social and emotional development and helps them navigate them calmly and constructively. 

  4. Covenant House Missouri, $2,423,000.00 - The Covenant House Missouri project will be a hub for holistic economic development programs to help marginalized youth obtain education, establish the hard and soft skills needed in the workplace, gain financial education and empowerment, connect to mentors, and promote social capital in the spirit of achieving a lifetime of independence and success. 

  5. St. Louis Public Schools, $252,713.00 - The St. Louis Public Schools project will offer academic and career-oriented courses to transition from high school to a career. SLPS offers 27 distinct Career and Technical Education tracks, which students enroll in as juniors and seniors, but begin to be exposed to as early as middle school. The program relies on deep partnerships with industry, unions, and community college partners to ensure that students have a path to a career. 

  6. 911 Dispatch System, City of St. Louis, $684,386.00 - The 911 Dispatch System project for the City of St. Louis will support a technology upgrade to the CAD system to modernize and centralize the City's emergency response system in line with national best practices. 

  7. A Red Circle, $1,498,853.00 - This A Red Circle project restores a blighted property that has been vacant for over 10 years, provides essential revenues to a primarily Black community that has faced disinvestment for decades, and addresses priority concerns of food security to promote healthy outcomes for residents. It also provides much needed space for community service programming like our co-located STL Mutual Aid services, affordable open space for homegrown small businesses, and will provide a needed cold storage and distribution site for a growing Good Food Movement with local urban Black farmers in North County. 

  8. Wi-Fi for St. Louis Housing Authority Units, $990,000.00 - The Wi-Fi for St. Louis Housing Authority Residents project will connect 600 households across six public housing  units to high-speed internet by installing a private LTE network and providing residents with devices (i.e. chromebooks, tablets), technical support and elementary digital literacy services.

  9. Seed St. Louis, $380,000.00 - Seed St. Louis will offer support to, expand, and build school gardens and orchards, while also building a student & teacher destination children’s garden for learning and exploration. 

  10. LifeHouse Phase 1, Page Revitalization Initiative, $4,000,000.00 - The LifeHouse Phase 1 of the Page Revitalization Initiative at Better Family Life will not only revitalize North City, but educate and support the residents in securing a beautiful safe home and equip them with the knowledge and financial stability to remain in their home. 

  11. Boys and Girls Clubs Capital Projects, $2,159,400.00 - The Boys and Girls Clubs Capital Projects will renovate and do capital improvements  needed in order to safely house and expand after- school, weekend and summer programs for youth ages 5-18. 

  12. Behavioral Health Urgent Care Long Acting Injectable Clinic, SSM Health - St. Mary’s Hospital, $2,500,000.00 -The Injectable Clinic will provide alternative treatment options for adults and adolescents who have trouble consistently taking their daily/regular antipsychotic or addiction medications. The clinic will provide patient’s medicine through a single injection that steadily releases medication over several weeks. It will provide this resource within MO-1, preventing patients from having to travel greater distances to existing facilities and helping address inequities and gaps in care.  

  13. Dunbar Gardens, City of Kinloch, $1,498,853.00 - The Dunbar Gardens project in the City of Kinloch will help facilitate the renovation of an apartment complex aimed at providing affordable housing for senior citizens and the underserved. 

  14. UAW Labor Employment and Training Corporation, $1,549,973.00 - The UAW Labor Employment and Training Corporation will create a premier Automotive Repair Training center in the St. Louis Metropolitan area to provide basic and advanced automotive technology training to unemployed, underemployed, and incumbent workers thru UAW Labor Employment and Training Corporation (LETC) leading to middle & high skilled employment utilizing Apprenticeship models and career pathways in the changing automotive technology industry. 

  15. Urban League Plaza, $1,678,500.00 - The Urban League Plaza invests in the restoration of the property's exterior and revitalization of its interior in preparation to house African-American owned small business enterprises. The plaza is designed to provide space that is quality, affordable, and sustainable. This funding will be used for renovations and capital improvements. 

The inclusion of this funding in the Appropriations Committee draft FY23 spending bills is the first step in the process. Now, Congresswoman Bush will continue to work with her colleagues to deliver this funding for St. Louis as the bills move to the House Floor for consideration, to the Senate, and then to President Biden’s desk to get signed into law.

 

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Congresswoman Cori Bush sits on the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees, serves as the Progressive Caucus Deputy Whip, and proudly represents St. Louis as a politivist in the halls of the United States Congress.