Mission & History
We walk with people facing homelessness on their journey to lifelong stability.
Our Mission
Hope, empowerment, compassion, hospitality, and a chance for independence.
For more than 40 years, Peter & Paul Community Services has provided housing and supportive services to persons who are homeless, especially those who experience mental illness or live with HIV.
PPCS is an ecumenical agency rooted in community, volunteerism, and the belief that people can regain stability when they are met with dignity, support, and practical pathways toward independence.
“Together we can help solve homelessness for our community.”
Core Values
Our values guide everything we do.
PPCS believes that culture sets the agency apart. These values help align decisions, care, hiring, and the quality of service provided to clients.
Compassion
Dignity and care for each person.
Curiosity
Learn and improve
continuously.
Courage
Innovate and embrace challenges.
Collaboration
Work with diverse groups toward shared goals.
Our History
A grassroots response that became a lasting community movement.
Like many grassroots movements that have endured, PPCS began when concerned neighborhood volunteers responded to what had become a neighborhood issue.
In January 1981, after a local man who was homeless was found frozen to death, neighbors and faith communities reached out to others who were homeless and in need. That response led to the opening of a winter shelter in the basement of Saints Peter and Paul Church in Soulard.
1981
Winter shelter opens
The community response became a winter shelter in the basement of Saints Peter and Paul Church in Soulard, where emergency shelter continued until its relocation to the new Community Campus in July 2024.
1988
Beyond emergency shelter
PPCS launched its first transitional housing program, helping individuals move toward independence with case management and structured support.
1980s–1990s
Responding to HIV/AIDS
As the AIDS crisis impacted shelter and meals program guests, PPCS opened Positive Directions to support men and women living with HIV.
Mid-1990s
Labre Center opens
PPCS opened Labre Center, a state-licensed Residential Care Facility named for Benedict Joseph Labre, serving men living with mental illness.
2014
Garfield Place Apartments
Renovations to the Garfield School created 25 permanent supportive housing apartments for people experiencing chronic homelessness.
Today
Solving homelessness together
Emergency shelter, transitional housing, permanent supportive housing, and community programs continue through the work of staff, volunteers, partners, and supporters.
Impact
Over 85% of residents in PPCS clinical transitional housing programs have successfully transitioned to self-sufficiency and independence.
Historical Archive
Stories from the early days
The original history page includes archival images and captions that can be added here after final media migration.
First Shelter
A 1985 St. Louis Review article highlighted the first shelter in the basement of Saints Peter & Paul Church.
Blankets & Care
An early St. Louis Post-Dispatch photograph showed neighbors receiving blankets during the shelter’s early days.
Building Programs
Volunteers helped renovate spaces that later supported Positive Directions and other PPCS programs.
Meals & Community
Volunteers and staff cooked and served meals, building a sense of community for neighbors with low incomes and those experiencing homelessness.
Garfield Commons
The Garfield Commons groundbreaking marked an important step toward permanent supportive housing.
Be part of the solution.
Your support helps provide housing, resources, and hope for neighbors in need.