Imagine you are a young mother. You just had a baby and are bringing her home; a home you’ve worked hard to make safe for your new arrival. Maybe you had to struggle to get a crib. Maybe you had to struggle to get an apartment. You’ve persisted to build an environment where your newborn can thrive. However, your home is in the mice-infested Clinton-Peabody housing complex in downtown St. Louis.
Clinton-Peabody residents have been plagued for years by mice infestations that pose a serious threat to the health of the infants and young children who live there. The City of St. Louis Health Department has confirmed 24 of 31 buildings in this development have mice – and babies and children live in most of these units. Many resident families have been displaced, leaving their homes because it is no longer safe to eat or sleep there.
As the Clinton-Peabody problem has grown, FLOURISH St. Louis stepped in to advocate for these residents, championing this situation as part of our ongoing efforts to reduce infant mortality in St. Louis.
“This is a prime example of how complex systems, like public housing, have a direct impact on the health of families,” said Lora Gulley, director of strategic initiatives at Generate Health, the organization that oversees FLOURISH. “We have to intervene and fix these systems if we want to create substantial and long-lasting change in our community.”
For example, the mice infestation at Clinton-Peabody affects one of the most important aspects of infant health – safe sleep. “Parents are faced with the choice of putting their babies in a crib and risking them being bitten by a mouse, or putting them in their own bed with them – which puts sleeping babies at risk for SIDS or suffocation,” said Melinda Ohlemiller, CEO of Nurses for Newborns and FLOURISH cabinet member.
Three managed care organizations (MCOs) have become involved after determining that roughly 900 people who lived in the complex were members of their Medicaid health plans. This experience led the MCOs to learn about the impact of this crisis on its members, but also to explore the financial ramifications of continued health issues of the members.
The St. Louis City Health Department continues to investigate the infestation and hold the St. Louis Housing Authority accountable for improving living conditions. The Housing Authority has made small improvements, but has not committed to make the necessary renovations to the complex. Several elected officials, including State Senator Jamilah Nasheed, Representative Michael Butler and Representative Bruce Franks, have publicly advocated on the behalf of residents to the Housing Authority.
Senator Clare McCaskill and Senator Jamilah Nasheed have appealed to Secretary Ben Carson, Head of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), to make an emergency visit to St. Louis to witness the deplorable conditions at Clinton-Peabody. “Everyone deserves the right to safe and sanitary housing. But those basic conditions aren’t even close to the reality for residents at Clinton-Peabody,” commented Nasheed in a recent Facebook post. “This needs to end now.”
Most recently, collective efforts have resulted in the replacement of the St. Louis Housing Authority Board of Commissioners chair; and Attorney General Josh Hawley has taken an in-person visit to Clinton-Peabody thanks to Senator Claire McCaskill elevating housing concerns.
We hope that these efforts will improve long-term public housing conditions in St. Louis; however, more support is needed to help these families today. You can help by:
- Sending a letter or calling Mayor Krewson’s office or one of your St. Louis Alderman to voice your concern.
- Sending a letter or calling the St. Louis Housing Authority Board of Commissioners to voice your concern.
- Collecting items to help Clinton-Peabody families in the short term, including glass containers for food, mice sticker traps, latex gloves, trash bags, cleaning supplies, trash cans with wheels and lids, or financial donations.
- Join the Clinton-Peabody Strategy Team to help drive action around this issue. Current members include FLOURISH, the City of St. Louis Health Department and Legal Services of Eastern Missouri.
For more information, contact Lora Gulley at lgulley@generatehealthstl.org. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and St. Louis American also have been providing updates on the issue.
