ST. LOUIS — More than a month ago, there were two tents outside of St. Louis City Hall, and then, a couple of more went up. Now, there are at least two dozen tents outside the building in the heart of downtown St. Louis.
The tents have become makeshift homes for unhoused people and their pets.
"I lost my job due to homelessness," William Clay said. "I got put out of my home."
"I can't count the many times I've cried to my wife," Gino McCoy said.
McCoy and Clay live at the encampment near Market and Tucker Boulevard with their pregnant wives.
The Clays have been there for the past month, and the McCoys moved to St. Louis two months from Phoenix. Their three pit bulls are staying in a separate tent.
"The only way we would be able to get into a shelter is my wife would have to go to one by herself, and I would be on the streets with our three dogs because the shelters won't take our dogs," McCoy said. "Back in Phoenix, we ran two businesses, including a dog kennel."
"It's kind of crazy, but it's better than living under a bridge," Erica Clay said.
Many of the people living in the tents are right under the office of St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones.
The singles, couples and families planted signs in the grass at city hall as part of a protest.
"They don't care too much about people, and somebody's got to voice this," William Clay said. "I want the city to do something about homelessness."
Jones wasn't available to talk to 5 On Your Side on camera.
Spokesperson Nick Dunne sent a statement saying the city "partners with a network of housing and service providers to identify opportunities to get more people on the path to permanent housing."
Dunne also said the city recently completed the expansion of the "Tiny Homes transitional housing project to support the unhoused. It's just one of the many steps the City has taken to support our unhoused neighbors using American Rescue Plan Act funds."
"The city is doing a responsive job to help homeless people in our area," said Kathy Connors, the executive director of Gateway 180. "My 27-member staff and I are also doing what we can. We normally have more than 100 beds, and currently, we have nine available for families."
The shelter serves women and families and is located north of downtown at 1000 North 19th St.
"The services are going fine, but it's that affordable housing that is needed," Connors said. "That is that really important part of the recipe to end homelessness."
In the meantime, things are looking up for Gino McCoy. He finally landed a new job.
"I am about to start working at the KFC just down the street," he said. "I'm excited. I am working on getting my bachelor's degree in business administration. I want a better future for my wife and future kids."
On Friday morning, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen will introduce the Unhoused Bill of Rights.
BOA President Megan Green said among other things, the bill will create "universal policies for how the city addresses encampments."
Green also said, "It will impact the process if the encampments are broken up to require a 30-day notice before it can be broken up so that appropriate housing can be found for the people living in the encampment."
The bill was in the works long before the encampment went up at city hall, she said.
Sanitation at the homeless encampment will also be discussed, Green said. At times, trash at the encampment has been piling up in trashcans around city hall, on the steps and in the streets.
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