Several businesses in Grand-South have used social media platforms like Facebook to express their concerns and discontent regarding water distribution plans, urging community leaders and neighboring businesses to reconsider their actions.

Several South Grand businesses took to social media, including Facebook, to express their discontent with neighboring businesses and community leaders like South Grand CID Board of Directors, advising them not to distribute water. During the scorching heat, many unhoused individuals often stop by seeking water and ice. It is unclear who the main targets of these criticisms are.

However, The Narrative Matters, a group closely aligned with some of the businesses that voiced their frustration, supports their stance following the rejection by their peers. Additionally, I have received statements from customers who, on the other hand, agree with the decision to refuse water distribution.

I prefer not to post those customers’ names but here is what one customer had to say. “I frequent several businesses on South Grand, and I live all the way in Creve Coure. It is like going to another planet in St. Louis. Especially when we talk about diversity.

However, what I won’t stand for, is my wife and kids being afraid to sit outside on the cafe. While these beggars disrupt our family time. I don’t mind helping people in need.

But when I help and you send other people to my face, it becomes a nuisance. On one occasion, a guy cursed me out after I told him I didn’t have an extra money to give them. They then started throwing debris my way, scaring my young son. Had I been by myself I would have floored his behind.

So, I do get the South Grand Association telling these businesses not to give out water. However, the City of St. Louis needs to get a handle on this troubling trend of homelessness. Because soon they won’t have anyone in the Urban areas.”

Cafe Natasha-Persian Iranian Restaurant

3200 S Grand Blvd, St. Louis, MO, United States, 63118-1014

Cafe Natasha took to Facebook with their concern for safety and compassion at this viral moment on South Grand, take a look. And it is an eye opener.

I am writing as a business owner and resident of South Grand. I love this community. I have lived here since i was a child. I came back as an adult in intentionally dedicated to this community. There is a fundamental lack of support here, no access to social workers no matter how much we rally, communicate, there is no social care support, mental health support.

The truth is the people on our streets are in serious need, mental health support, drug addiction support, housing support and targeted care by someone who is trained to help them. Our calls for help go unanswered and deflected. We are not equipped or properly trained to provide the care they need.

Unfortunately as a small business owner my attention is pulled in many directions and I failed to review the letter prior to it going out. I did not do my duty to read the letter that was signed and distributed. I take responsibility for my oversight and inaction. Regardless that I didn’t write the letter or read the letter, I take responsibility for not stopping it from going out. The intention was to seek help within our community since no one is willing or seemingly able to help us from the city. No human should be denied basic human needs. Period. There is no excuse for that.

This letter never should have been allowed to be written. That is where I failed the community. There should never be a reason to not provide water, food or basic human needs to another human. I accept my responsibility for allowing this to happen.

I am overwhelmed, distressed and exhausted from the lack of support from this city. We have anguished to no avail to get the city to provide mental heath services and social work services to our streets. We have daily called for help as drug overdoses and drug induced violent attacks on our streets with absolutely no response, no help and when we do finally get them out, there is a surface response that is clear that their hands are tied to provide any help.

We are not equipped to know how to deal with these situations and it is getting worse with the drug houses.

I was personally called by neighboring businesses when a man with a machete was threatening people on the street. I called the police and I worked to talk him down and calmed him as i had been working to establish a relationship with him prior. He suddenly got more angry and the violence escalated.

There was no response

There was no action

We were left to fend for ourselves

Our neighboring businesses tried to talk someone down who walked into their business with a baseball bat.

The employee was struck with a baseball bat and seriously hurt.

The police were called and he was caught.

The court release the violent offender with no consequences back to the street.

When we called 911 they said they couldn’t help and that we should get a baseball bat to defend ourselves. That is not a solution. That is living in fear.

I believe deeply in taking care of people. It’s why I’m in the hospitality business.

It’s the only reason.

I build relationships with the people in our neighborhood. I know many of our unhoused neighbors. We give food when we can. Water. Money for the bus. Whatever might help someone get somewhere safe, find shelter, or simply make it through another night.

And I don’t want the things that have happened recently to change that part of me. But I also need to talk about what has been happening.

In the last two weeks, a woman who appeared to be under the influence came into our business carrying a large stick and demanding money. We don’t keep cash on hand, and we were closed and didn’t have food available. My employees were scared enough that they gave her their own money because they were trying to keep themselves safe.

This week, the same woman came back. She walked in screaming at everyone. After we got her outside, she followed members of my team toward their cars, still screaming at them.

A man walked into our business and told us he was going to kill us. He looked people in the eyes and told them he was going to kill them and that they needed to watch their backs.

The police were called. He refused services, and there was little they could do. I still see him regularly. As far as I know, he still has not received meaningful help.

And then there was a woman in the street who appeared to be coming down from a high or possibly overdosing. We brought her ice water. We got her out of the street so she wouldn’t be hit by a car. We called for help.

An ambulance came. Police came. She refused services. And everyone left. She was still there.

I am not sharing any of this because I want these people arrested, punished, or pushed somewhere else. I’m sharing it because I genuinely do not know what we are supposed to do anymore.

These are human beings. They deserve compassion. They deserve dignity. They deserve care.

And my employees are human beings, too.

They deserve to come to work without being afraid that someone will hurt them. They deserve to walk to their cars without being followed. They deserve to hear a death threat and believe that someone, somewhere, has the ability to intervene before something terrible happens.

I don’t want to become hardened. I don’t want fear to replace empathy. I don’t want our answer to people in crisis to simply be moving them along until they become someone else’s problem.

I want us to help them.

Actually help them.

Because replacing another window is easy.

Waiting until someone gets seriously hurt because a person in crisis could not or would not accept help is something I don’t think any of us should be willing to accept.

There has to be something between doing nothing and waiting for tragedy.

We need help. They need help. And we have to find a better way to take care of all of us.

One of my favorite eateries on South Grand Steve’s Hot Dog and his business partner also had something to say about the issue:

As long-time South Grand business owners and employers, we’ve heard from so many neighbors and community members over the last 24 hours regarding the recent letter sent out by the South Grand CID. We want to speak directly to this—not just as business operators but as people who care deeply about this neighborhood and everyone who walks its sidewalks.

First, we want to acknowledge Rachel Witt and the CID board. We know firsthand that they care deeply about South Grand, and they are constantly under immense pressure to navigate raw public safety issues, property damage, and the survival of our small business district with very few tools. They are good humans and their intent comes from a desire to keep our street safe and viable.

At the same time, we have to be real: 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐜𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 – not our business, not our neighborhood.

In our restaurants, as long as someone is being respectful to our team, we will always provide cold water and ice. Basic human kindness should never be transactional, and handing someone a drink on a 90 degree day isn’t what is driving the complex crisis on South Grand.

That’s also why we continued our 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 program long after COVID. We believe food is a fundamental human right, but we also know that true support requires more than handing out a meal on the sidewalk and walking away. Through Feed the People, instead of passing meals out of our door onto the streets, we choose to partner directly with established local non-profits and social service agencies (Waymaker’s Chapel, St. Patrick Center, Gateway Housing First will start with us in October)—organizations staffed with trained social workers and case managers who distribute those meals while actively connecting individuals to housing, addiction treatment, and mental health resources. Real compassion means pairing immediate relief with a pathway to long-term care.

Right now, our front-line restaurant workers up and down South Grand are being asked to act as social workers and crisis responders without the training or support to do so. We used to call non-emergency lines hoping for clinicians to come out as part of the (now defunct?) Cops and Clinicians program, but due to systemic resource gaps at the city level, those clinicians rarely show up. Expecting small businesses to manage severe mental health crises, or asking neighbors to call 911 for non-violent unhoused individuals, are both symptoms of a system that isn’t working.

When Danni recently asked the City for an audit of what is being done to support the Unhoused in our area, she was given a very meager list. Over 13 months, they did a few site visits, a couple of meetings, handed out 5 bottles of water, resource lists, 4 hygiene kits. That’s not enough.

This issue has devolved into neighbors fighting neighbors and businesses clashing with advocates because we are all being forced to manage the downstream consequences of a broken municipal response.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐥—𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐭. 𝐋𝐨𝐮𝐢𝐬 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 to address chronic homelessness, rampant open drug use, and severe behavioral health crises. The CID on South Grand has been asking for real help to prevent people from falling through the cracks for years and not receiving real or meaningful support.

We need our city leadership, alders, and health departments to step up for South Grand and for the City at large with real, systemic solutions.

Yesterday morning before we saw all of this, Danni submitted a request to the City asking for:

• 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧 – Investing in evidence-based Housing First models paired with intensive, wrap-around medical and social services—a model proven to work in cities across the country.

• 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 – a monthly meeting between DHS, the Behavioral Health Bureau, SLMPD, Ward 6 leadership, the CID Board, any agencies providing support services and local business/property owners to review metrics, active cases, and hot spots. This way we know where issues are, where help is neeeded.

• 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 (𝐜𝐨-𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬) who are actively on our corridor daily doing real casework. As our friend Sharon Morrow (formerly of Tent Mission) will tell you, people will not accept resources without RELATIONSHIP. The case workers need to be regular, persistent and present. Trust needs to be built. Trust takes time and regularity.

• 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: Overhaul and simplify the city’s business resource guides so business owners know exactly who responds in real-time when an individual is in severe crisis. When resources come and go, it’s hard to know where to go for help.

• 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐬 (𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞) that connect food distribution directly with professional social services and case management.

We absolutely should not criminalize our unhoused neighbors, nor can we expect small business workers to manage social crises alone. Everyone in South Grand—our unhoused community, our residents, our workers, and our business leaders—deserves better than the status quo.

Let’s give grace here. We’ve certainly made mistakes in learning how to co-exist with the issues on this street – no one can respond to this perfectly. Some days it’s harder than others. This is not easy stuff, and we’re all human.

Rather than being angry at small business leaders who are left navigating severe behavioral health crises, human waste in doorways, open drug use, and broken windows without city support, let’s direct our collective energy where it belongs: demanding real, structural housing and behavioral health solutions from our city leadership. Mayor Cara Spencer, what is the city’s plan? 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩?

We’re not experts, but we’ve learned a lot in our time here – and what we know for sure is that we must be good neighbors and compassion is the order of the day. So we look for a way forward to protect our neighbors, to help our District – and we continue feeding people through our Feed the People program.

— Danni & Steve

And with businesses like Steve’s Hot Dog, it is great to see that admist the controversy, there still are decent human beings in the world.

Cedric Redmond

Local citizen advocate Cedric Redmond, along with his neighbors along the South Grand corridor, took to social media to show support for the unhoused and those in need. They gathered gallons of water, coolers, and cups to distribute fresh ice and water to community members during this ongoing heat wave, which is expected to persist in the city for some time.

Cedric’s Facebook:

Last night, word on the street is the SGCID encouraged businesses to turn away non patrons/unhoused access to water/ice during a heatwave which the weather is outta their control….

I honestly see BOTH SIDES to this issue however; when the community calls for action for some reason that’s when the ideas begin to become a vision to me

I made a few phone calls last night to Susan Petsche Herzberg, Sheila Moore, Marilyn Lancaster & my guy Will Erker… we managed to gather some 10 gallon coolers to donate to the businesses willing to offer water.

You might see these as you go down Grand over the next couple days to help beat the heat

I appreciate the businesses who accepted the offer; i understand the businesses who declined but hopefully a response like this will balance out the issue for now until a better solution #SouthCityCed

Good for you Ced, Steve & Danni and Cafe Latasha, we stand by you guys.

More: Courtesy of St. Louis Post-Dispatch
A leader of the South Grand Boulevard business district apologized Thursday for a district letter telling shop owners not to give food and water to homeless people, saying it never should have been sent.

But she also said it was borne of frustration after years of trouble, including threats and violence, from homeless people in the commercial corridor, and a lackluster response from authorities.

Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier, whose ward includes the district, agreed that city government isn’t doing enough, but said solving the problems will require state and federal government help.

Press Release from South Grand CID

As we oversee and regulate our nonprofit organization, Disc Community Foundation, a valuable lesson is being demonstrated and conveyed through The Narrative Matters.

These businesses genuinely want to contribute and support the community, but they also prioritize maintaining a clean and safe environment for their staff and customers. In my view, some customers may quickly choose to leave if disruptive visitors continue to interfere with their experience.

This creates a challenging situation—trying to balance the needs of unhoused individuals with the comfort of patrons often results in a lose-lose scenario. It’s important to recognize that not all unhoused persons are seeking to cause disturbances; many genuinely need assistance. I believe the city should focus more on supporting these individuals by reallocating resources, such as data center funds, to develop meaningful neighborhoods where both residents and unhoused persons can coexist peacefully.