St. Louis Homeless Shelters, Providers Rely On Earned Trust To Boost Vaccinations

By Kayla Drake, St. Louis Public Radio

Homeless shelters and service providers in the St. Louis region are leaning on the trust they've fostered for years in the homeless community to get COVID-19 vaccines in arms. So far, it's working.

Organizations including St. Patrick Center, Peter and Paul Community Services, St. Vincent de Paul and City Hope have helped vaccinate nearly 400 people since March. Leaders and caseworkers at the nonprofits say personal relationships have been key to that success.

“In working with the unhoused community, trust is a major issue,” City Hope CEO Michael Robinson said. “Our guests have grown to love and trust us because of the way that we treat them and assist them. That helps to bring some of the level of anxiety and scrutiny down because most of them don't believe that we would do anything that would harm them.”

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