Founded in 1988, the nonprofit Doorways has spent decades connecting people living with HIV/AIDS with housing. However, for much of its existence, the nonprofit resorted to placing clients in emergency or 鈥渇lex鈥� housing by renting rooms in motels and boarding houses until permanent housing could be found.
But one night, Opal Jones, the nonprofit鈥檚 president and CEO, realized that the system needed to be more than just a decentralized collection of short-term living spaces.
鈥淚 got a call from one of our transgender female residents,鈥� Jones recounted on Friday鈥檚 St. Louis on the Air. 鈥淪he said, 鈥業 am afraid to go in there, you have to walk down the side of this house, down the steps in through the back. And I'd rather sleep in my car than go in there.鈥欌��
The call sparked introspection about the nonprofit鈥檚 strategy: 鈥淲e had to take a hard look at ourselves and say, 鈥業s this intervention working?鈥欌��
She continued: 鈥淚t turned out it was not. It was oftentimes a Band-Aid, and we'd have clients coming back year after year waiting for their 60 days of emergency housing.鈥�
That hard look resulted in a new plan: building new housing and moving the nonprofit鈥檚 headquarters to a $40 million campus on Jefferson Avenue. Officially opened in October, the new campus includes 50 housing units. For Jones, the campus and expanded housing provided a better strategy. The goal, Jones said, is to prepare residents 鈥渇or independence and then be ready for the next group of people.鈥�
Jones estimates there are roughly 15,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the St. Louis region. Cory McCormick, a Doorways program participant, moved into a new apartment on the Doorways campus last week.
Before that, he said, 鈥淚 came from not having anything, literally getting to the point where I've lost everything in my life, my home, car and job.鈥�
McCormick said a caseworker eventually referred him to Doorways.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a big change to go from something like that to the Jefferson campus where 鈥� it feels like a big, funny, goofy, family who just loves to make sure that you're OK.鈥�
The Doorways campus is continuing its expansion. will include building 39 apartments and providing the residents with on-site case management, behavioral health and health screening services.
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