Teresa Flores is a third-year law student at the Saint Louis University School of Law, and is the upcoming Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion for the Student Bar Association. She was a part of the class, Removal Defense Project: Sheltering Vulnerable Immigrant Children and Families, taught by St....

In December 2018, St. Francis Community Services reached an exciting milestone when the organization created an Endowment Fund through the Roman Catholic Foundation of Eastern Missouri. This endowment provides individuals with a great option to support the work at St. Francis with a gift that truly last a lifetime...

Creating a Home in St. Louis When individuals are able to purchase homes within their means, it’s a win for both themselves and the surrounding community. Purchasing a home often provides a foundation for long-term wealth and a stronger stake in the neighborhood. In order to ensure that housing...

When Lena Salameh thinks about individuals seeking asylum and relief from deportation, she says, “I often think of the poem by Warsan Shire, ‘Nobody leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark.” She describes her own family’s journey of immigration – her dad immigrated when he was...

(Image above: St. Francis Community Services marching in the Stand Up for Women Veterans parade in November, 2018) Veterans Advocacy Project attorney Stephanie Lummus often spends her Thursdays away from the St. Francis Community Services Catholic Legal Assistance Ministry office. Preparing for City Diversion Court, she assesses the courtroom...

The weekend of April 29, 2017 held a difficult time for many residents of the greater St. Louis area: rainstorms swelled the tributaries of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, causing disastrous flooding. Many of these same areas had experienced similar damage just over a year prior in the winter...

At St. Francis Community Services’ Southside Center location, Site Director and Therapist Meredith Rataj guides a mom through a small sea of Christmas packages to her family’s gifts. While staff try to determine if the many packages will fit in her car, the mother has other reflections. Looking at...