The Little Miracles and Big Impact of Churches on the Streets

Every Monday evening, the Churches on the Streets St. Louis food truck rolls up to an empty lot next to the Edward Jones Dome where more than 100 people are waiting.

Inside the truck, volunteers serve up hot meals and a kind word to their hungry guests. Kids hand out warm hoodies, and massage therapists and hair stylists offer their services for free to anyone who can use a shoulder rub and haircut.

For those living on the streets and in the homeless shelters of St. Louis – many of them young families – these Monday nights, as well as Thursday evenings at Soldiers Memorial, are a time for great food and even greater fellowship.

Thanks to the work of Ralph and Angela Valdes and a host of volunteers including teens, guests leave every Churches on the Streets event with a full stomach, an armful of clothing and hygiene products, and a sense of hope that will empower them for weeks to come.

A family unites to help others

For years, the Valdeses, owners of Pool Butlers in Wood River, Ill., had volunteered with their church’s homeless outreach program. But when the congregation had to halt the program, these two grandparents decided to take the helm and start their own mission.

Alongside their family and friends, the Valdeses began preparing and serving hot meals to the homeless in St. Louis. However, when the Health Department questioned the legality of their actions, support for their efforts exploded after a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article spotlighted their cause.

“Social media went crazy,” Angela remembered. “Overnight, people wanted to use their gifts to help us out. Someone purchased a food truck for us so we could meet the Health Department’s requirements. Restaurants like Fortel’s Pizza Den stepped up immediately to donate meals. Volunteers of all ages lined up to help. We had no plans to start a nonprofit, but two years later, here we are.”

Now a 501(c)(3), Churches on the Streets St. Louis serves up hot, nutritious meals donated by local restaurants, like Fortel’s as well as Fire-N-Smoke in Troy, Ill., to those who are homeless.

“These aren’t cast-off meals; these restaurants are cooking specifically for those we serve,” Angela said. “They are getting the same meals anyone gets when they go out to eat, and that’s so important. They feel respected and treated like a ‘normal’ person.”

In addition, guests get access to seasonal clothing, hygiene products and snacks. They are treated by chiropractors and other service providers, interact with pet therapy dogs from Our Furry Friends if they’re suffering from mental challenges or post-traumatic stress disorder, and connect with resources dedicated to counseling, job training, food, and medical care.

Churches on the Streets also has mobile teams that travel the streets of downtown offering prepackaged meals, fruits and vegetables, high-protein snacks, and water to those who can’t get to the food truck location.

While meeting each person’s daily needs are critical, just as important, especially among the younger volunteers, are the one-on-one connections the organization provides.

 “Our volunteers have a blast talking with the people who come out. They want to find out more about them and get to know their story. To them, they’re not a ‘homeless person’ anymore – they’re Joe or Sandy or Bob. They fall in love with them and want to visit with them again and again. It’s such a blessing to everyone involved.”

Part of the volunteers’ efforts is sharing a word of encouragement and the word of God. Although Churches on the Street is focused on a Christian doctrine, Angela explained that people of all faiths volunteer with the organization.

“When we share what we believe, people are incredibly respectful. We link arms and make a difference together. These are people who want to see a change in our community. Our board is made up of people of many diverse backgrounds, and in the field, we have volunteers of all denominations and races working together to change lives in our city.”

For individuals like Brittany, Churches on the Streets gave her hope when she needed it most. A regular guest for two years, she was touched by a particular message one evening. The next morning, she began working with local resources to find a job. She not only found one – she found three. Within months, she secured an apartment, took parenting classes, and was able to get her children back from foster care.

As Angela described, her volunteers not only changed Brittany’s life, but her children’s lives and all future generations’ to follow.

Empowering the youngest volunteers to make a difference

Attend any Churches on the Street outreach event, and you’ll see volunteers of all ages, including kids and teens. In many cases, elementary students will host a food, water or clothing drive, and in turn, hand the items out to the guests themselves.

“The smiles on the children’s faces when they volunteer are just awesome,” said Angela. “It’s so neat to watch. Whether these kids are 5 or 12 or 17 years old, you can see how much they love adding value to someone else’s life.”

Angela’s own 12-year-old granddaughter Alexis, for instance, is a regular volunteer. Having participated since the beginning, she regularly takes charge of the activities on the nights out and has built leadership skills and unwavering compassion that will last for years to come.

For 15-year-old Seth West of Granite City, his experience with Churches on the Streets has been life-changing. Over the past few months, he’s volunteered every Thursday night, collecting clothes and passing them out to attendees.

“I’ve discovered what it really means to be homeless,” he said. “I feel like I have changed in how I see life, and how something such as a job loss or even something smaller can make you homeless.”

He added, “I continue to volunteer because I feel for these people, and I have even befriended some of them. My favorite part is when I see them get better, and things start looking up for them.”

The increase in volunteerism among the young only continues to climb, with kids and teens returning again and again.

Remarked Angela, “What I hear most often from parents is that I need to teach my children to be grateful and to appreciate how blessed they are. Volunteering is such a great way to show how you can impact lives through community service. Those of us who serve see how truly life-changing it is. We make it easy for kids to give back and pay it forward.”

Expanding their outreach

Churches on the Streets is always looking for young volunteers or families who are willing to participate. In addition, with the winter months quickly approaching, they’re currently collecting new and gently-used jeans, coats, hoodies, tennis shoes, and especially heavy work boots, as well as snacks and hygiene items. A list of donation barrels in Missouri and Illinois can be found on their website.

In addition, Angela is also a renowned advocate for raising awareness about the problem of sexual and human trafficking in St. Louis.

A trained educator and member of both the Southwest Illinois Human Trafficking Collation and Rescue and Restore Consortium through the International Institute in St. Louis, Angela is a recognized speaker on the topic and has joined others in the effort to get women living in forced prostitution into secure safe houses. Angela is available to speak at your organization or to host an educational workshop.

For more information about volunteer opportunities or to learn more about Churches on the Streets’ homeless outreach efforts and human trafficking awareness projects, visit them at churchesonthestreets.com or follow them on Facebook.