Date: April 6, 2012

To: Whom It May Concern

From: Linda Thompson, Executive Director – Missouri Community Service Commission

Subject: 2012 National Service Impact Awards Nomination

AmeriCorps St. Louis Safety Service Corps

AmeriCorps St. Louis Safety Service Corps and AmeriCorps St. Louis Education Corps are both under the umbrella of AmeriCorps St. Louis – Partnership for Youth. They have been in business since 1994. They are located at 1315 Ann Avenue, St. Louis, MO which is in the Soulard community of St. Louis; a historic French neighborhood. Their mission is “…to enhance the professional skills and life-long ethic of the young men and women who serve; to respond to critical unmet needs in the areas of urban education, emergency response, and environmental conservation, to leverage service of volunteers, and to build the capacity of our partnering agencies and communities we serve.”[1] The vision of AmeriCorps St. Louis is “to be a purveyor of skill, a beacon of hope, and a model of public stewardship. AmeriCorps St. Louis serves to create systemic change as well as provide direct service that impacts the well-being of the poor and disenfranchised, particularly children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.”[2]

My nominee for the 2012 National Service Impact Award is the St. Louis Safety Service Corps. The St. Louis Safety Service Corps (STL SSC) is lead by Bruce Bailey and is composed of approximately 35 full-time AmeriCorps Members. This Corps' primary focus is on preparing for and responding to disasters across Missouri, and by invitation, to other states. As of 2012, the STL SSC Emergency Response Team (ERT) has deployed to disasters in more than 50 Missouri counties and 30 states. The Safety Service Corps partners with the United Way, FEMA, SEMA, the US Forest, the Missouri Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as well as other state and local disaster agencies, State Commissions, and Emergency Managers.

In 2011, a series of disasters struck in Missouri. At times, the 35 full-time AmeriCorps Members were divided among several cities simultaneously as disasters continued to affect a plethora of citizens across the state; response and recovery services overlapped. Among these 2011 disasters were the Good Friday Tornados that struck North St. Louis on April 22; massive flooding in Southeast Missouri that also affected other contiguous states such as Illinois, the EF5 Joplin Tornado that occurred on May 22, 2011 and the latest being the tornadoes that touched down in Kimberling City and Branson, MO on February 29, 2012. The St. Louis Safety Service Corps were among the first responders railing to the aid of affected Missourians caught off-guard by these devastating and unfortunate incidents.

Not subtracting from the severity of all of these events and the horrendous memories that will forever remain in the minds of those affected, the Joplin Tornado was by far the most devastating of all of the aforementioned disasters. The EF-5 tornado took 161 known lives, injured roughly 2,000 people, destroyed 7,400 single family homes, 500 businesses, 18,000 vehicles, destroyed a hospital, a nursing home, and four schools. It generated more debris than the 9-11 terrorist attacks; more than 3 million cubic yards.

Joplin’s assistant city manager, Sam Anselm, said that he couldn’t speak more highly of the St. Louis Safety Service Corps; he said “AmeriCorps is a program that simply works, and works well…” Volunteers, in Joplin alone, have served more than 524,563 hours. Based on the Independent Sector, the current value of volunteer time in Missouri equates to $18.80 an hour. This means that to date, these Joplin volunteers have donated approximately $9,861,784.40 dollars to Joplin in service. [3]

Bruce Bailey states that their model for Disaster Response was and still is a work-in-progress. Over the years, they have improved processes, developed relationships, and continue to grow and learn with each incident. There is not a one-size-fit-all as each disaster and each community is very different.

The St. Louis Safety Service Corps is the epitome of service to others. You have never seen a more dedicated group of young men and women. Bruce Bailey has very high standards and insists on those values and standards in every AmeriCorps Member and staff. One thing that Bruce said to me some time ago is embedded in my memory. He told me that when they are on their various missions, be it fire fighting or relief from another type disaster, that one thing they must always remember is that they are “guests in someone else’s house” and they conduct themselves as such. Always courteous, empathetic, and professional is how you behave in other communities and states. These values can be clearly seen in each and every Member of the Safety Corps as well as within staff at the Partnership.

As far as the Partnership is concerned, disaster relief does not end with fire fighting, debris removal, flood mitigation, and so forth. They also realize when somewhat silent disasters strike at home. The disaster that I’m speaking of is a disaster that mostly affects the homeless population. This may not be a disaster that you see on national news. Most of us don’t even think of it since the majority of us are in our comfortable homes with the thermostat turned to a degree of our choice. When the outside temperature in St. Louis drops to the 20’s and below, the Partnership opens their doors to serve as a shelter for those who are left out in the cold. I was told that one may walk into the shelter after hours and may not be able to distinguish the homeless from the AmeriCorps Members, with the exception of gear, because they are all mingling and socializing. This is phenomenal! We all know that being homeless is not synonymous with not being trustworthy, but sometimes this stigma follows those who are less fortunate. Yet, these AmeriCorps Members who come from all backgrounds and from different states are comfortably mingling with other human beings with no feelings of threat, insecurity or discrimination!

During my tenure as executive director of the Missouri Community Service Commission, I can recall the Safety Service Corps assisting in Mississippi and Louisiana after the massive destruction left behind by Hurricane Katrina. Pass Christian, Mississippi’s Tent Village was home for many of the Safety Corps Members for nearly a year after the devastation left by Katrina. AmeriCorps Members were a beam of hope for the hopeless in times of despair in that their focus were aimed toward the elderly, disabled, low income and no income citizens who may have lacked the insurance or other resources necessary to restore or repair their lives and personal property.

In times of disaster, St. Louis Safety Service Corps Members assist with search and rescue, debris removal, donations coordination, volunteer coordination, child care and overall case management. They serve in concert with city officials and numerous other organizations with the end in mind being the citizens who may be left homeless, distraught, devastated, and grieving the loss of loved ones. It takes special people who possess the ability to look beyond themselves and first consider the needs of others. I’m ecstatic to come to the realization that there are far more people like this on this planet than I could have imagined. Storms and tornados may tear apart buildings and uproot trees, but these same storms tend to bring together people and hearts that mend and souls renewed.

I hope that the Safety Corps is seriously considered as the recipient of this year’s award. Even though they do not do what they do for an award, they certainly deserve it.

Sincerely,

Linda Thompson

Executive Director

Missouri Community Service Commission

[1] http://www.americorps-stl.org/about-us/our-mission/

[2] Op. cit.

[3] http://independentsector.org/volunteer_time