A St. Louis Board of Aldermen committee is asking the full board to approve a measure that uses the city's marijuana tax to fund cold-weather protections for the city's homeless community.
During a meeting Wednesday evening, members of the Health and Human Development Committee moved forward the bill introduced by 7th Ward Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier with a "do pass" recommendation.
St. Louis used more than $3 million in Rams settlement funds to pay for the program, called Code Blue, during its first winter last year. The protocol increases shelter, transportation and outreach during extreme cold. This year, the plan is paid for with $2 million from the city's general budget.
Advocates and housing officials have called the new program a success, but it has lacked a consistent source of funding, Sonnier said.
"What that means is that every year when a budget comes, people have to hope that there is a Code Blue line in the budget," she said. "You have to hope that you have people in office who have the spirit to do it."
When the temperature drops below freezing, service providers work with the city to make hundreds of extra beds available at different shelters. When the temperature drops to 25 degrees or below, more beds open up. The city also activates bus routes and "rally points" where people can gather to find transportation to safe locations.
But the current stop-and-go funding leaves shelter providers, hospitals and health workers "unable to anticipate from one season to the next what level of city support will exist, and therefore unable to plan their staffing facilities and services with confidence," the text of the bill reads.
The committee's plan calls for using the city's 3% tax on marijuana sales to pay for the emergency shelter, transport and outreach. Sonnier said that last year, the tax generated around $1.5 million in revenue.
When asked about the gap between the previous Code Blue budgets and the marijuana revenue, she said that the bill established "a floor, not a ceiling" and that the board could appropriate more if it liked.
"I'm suggesting that as a city we should be fiscally responsible and we should identify the funds available as early as possible," she said.
Wednesday's meeting was attended by approximately 50 residents, many of them social workers, student volunteers and advocates for people experiencing homelessness. More than two dozen people spoke during the public comment period, all in support.
"If we can build bombs to destroy lives, why can't we build shelters to help save lives?" one speaker, Anthony Pulliam, asked the committee.
Many said they would like to see the city fund permanent housing for homeless people but thought that the funding was a good step for the city to take.
Others said they would like to see the city activate its Code Blue protocol at a higher temperature, since hypothermia and cold-related injuries can happen above freezing, especially to people who are wet or who aren't wearing adequate clothing.
Christina Sterman, a housing specialist at Gateway Housing First and an early advocate for the Code Blue protocol, said the turnout was heartening.
"We had a whole lot less people die last year because of [Code Blue]," she said. "Not since Larry Rice closed, we have not had anywhere near 600 beds like we did last year on the coldest nights."
Sterman told the committee that people shouldn't need to depend on luck to survive.
"With it going forward, I'm sure it's going to be codified," she said. "With the plans in place, the people that we're trying to reach will be reached."
The bill added a provision that emergency help could be activated during other extreme weather events, including dangerous heat or natural disasters. The bill also requires that at least one shelter will need to accommodate people with pets.
The bill is scheduled to get a second reading before the whole board Friday, with more discussion to follow in the coming weeks.
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