November 9, 2009

St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay and his city are collaborating with local philanthropic organizations to create what could be one of the most important initiatives in St. Louis today. This innovative program, “Project GO! Green,” not only addresses the environmental requisite for eco-friendly infrastructure, but also attempts to address the social deprivation of homelessness and unemployment.

As of October, St. Louis’ unemployment rate climbed above the national average to nearly ten percent (9.9), while its poverty rate reached 24.7 percent, twice the national average. While St. Louis still suffers from a fairly large homeless population, the city has successfully reduced homelessness by 30 percent in the past three years.

Project GO! Green tackles these issues. The program is a coalition of Gateway Greening, The St. Patrick Center and The National Corn to Ethanol Research Center. As separate entities, these organizations have provided services in the areas of unemployment, poverty and environmental works. As a coalition, they now serve as a cohesive unit that coordinates their services to not only restore St. Louis, but to also provide a framework for cities of the future.

Gateway Greening has become a staple in St. Louis through its landmark “City Seeds Urban Farm” program. The program aids homeless battling drug addiction and chronic mental illness through useful counseling and job training.

Another organization central to Project GO! Green is the St. Patrick Center, the largest and most effective provider of homeless services in Missouri. Today, the St. Patrick Center serves over 9,000 homeless and impoverished individuals annually through 28 programs, centered around three focus areas: employment, mental health and housing. The center’s effectiveness can be attributed to its hardworking and dedicated staff, coupled with invaluable partnerships with Slay, schools, colleges, community organizations, and innovative green training providers, who together have become an integral part of the local Workforce Investment system. In 2008, the St. Patrick Center placed 746 unemployed and underemployed residents into full-time jobs.

In 2005, Slay and the St. Patrick center developed “The Ten-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness for St. Louis and St. Louis County,” and supported the funding and implementation of the program, where businesses and jobs, including Green Jobs, are created specifically for the homeless. The St. Patrick Center launched its GO! Network in response to the recent national economic downturn. Approximately 1,000 job seekers have already used the GO! Network services, which include professional workshops, employee-led seminars, inspirational speakers, monthly job fairs and weekly networking meetings. Job seekers also have access to a group of over 70 HR professionals from 30 different St. Louis companies who welcome, direct, mentor and coach those who attend GO! Network events. All GO! Network events are free and hosted in St. Patrick Center’s auditorium, which is filled to capacity each week.

The third and final member of the Project GO! Green coalition is The National Corn to Ethanol Research Center (NCERC), which oversees the Bio-fuels Workforce Development sector of Project GO! Green. The NCERC will work in conjunction with the St. Patrick Center to provide training in bio-fuel production to the disadvantaged as well as professionals affected by the economic crisis. Each trainee receives a textbook, PowerPoint lecture notes, safety equipment, four 30-minute CDs covering the corn-to-ethanol process, lunch and transportation to NCERC facilities where trainees will be introduced to dry-grind ethanol, wet-mill plants, an analytical laboratory and a fermentation lab.

As a coalition of established and successful organizations, Project GO! Green embodies what happens when great minds come together for a great cause.