Anti-Violence Youth Programming (Prop S)

Prop S, sponsored by President Reed and approved by St. Louis voters in 2008 with Ordinance Number 67794, allocates funding for anti-violence youth programs. Each fiscal year, $1 million is funded through annual proceeds of a sales tax that are initially deposited into a City Public Safety Protection Sales Tax Fund. 

Prop S awards have been used to fund programs that have supported academic and social-emotional needs, and some have also provided workforce education and opportunities. Programs, clubs, and camps have offered opportunities in the arts, music, fitness, sports, and more.

2023 Funded Organizations

• 22nd Judicial Circuit Court
  • Will facilitate the Alternative to Violence Program (ATV) with the goals of teaching youth the concepts and four pillars of The Peaceful Project Program, to help youth have a better understanding of trauma and how it affects a person, and to reduce referrals back to the court for a delinquent offense
• Affinia Health
  • Provides high-quality health care and exceptional service to young people ages 12-24 exiting the foster care system, while promoting healthy lifestyles 
• Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri
  • Delivers comprehensive mentoring and wraparound support to young people, ages 11-24, to build trusting, enduring relationships between young people and adults; support academic success; promote health and well-being; sponsor workforce/educational learning opportunities; and connect young people and families with resources and supportive services
• Building Futures
  • Offers a 4-week summer workshop that will create viable pathways to careers and opportunities for high school students ages 14-18/grades 9-12.  The program serves as a safe place for young people to congregate during the summer, provides a paying job for high school students; and introduces high school students to carpentry as a career option after leaving school
• Communities First
  • Provides services to students and families in an effort to increase grade-level achievement in the areas of Math and English Language Arts, decrease risk scores in at least two areas of assessment, and increase parental knowledge of child development for teens
• Gateway Region YMCA
  • Provides at-risk teens between the ages of 14-18 years old from low-income families in the St. Louis area with a safe and creative outlet by offering the use of a music studio for 6 months.  In addition, they host 3 youth teen nights across YMCA city branches with a maximum of 100 youth per event.  The goal is to offer a positive and supportive environment for teens to express themselves through music and foster their personal growth
• Gene Slay's Girls and Boys Club
  • Provides educational assistance and experiential programming to school-enrolled youth ages 11-16 at their two locations in Soulard and Dutchtown. Youth participants will reside in one of the following four neighborhoods: Dutchtown, Gravois Park, Mt. Pleasant, and Bevo Mill
• Good Journey Development Foundation
  • Provides programs and services to youth aged 11-24 to support and build sustainable communities and young leaders and reduce youth involvement in criminal activity
• Harambee Youth Training Corporation
  • Offers life skill classes, education stipends, after-school programming, and summer programming to at-risk youth participants ages 12-18
• Lifewise STL
  • Supports St. Louis City youth in gaining knowledge and life skills, building relationships, finding resources, and improving their overall well-being by providing programs and services to youth ages 6-18
• Lift for Life
  • Creates and sustains a powerlifting program to engage members ages 11-18 and expose them to a new fitness activity.  The goal of the instruction is to expose members to a healthy new sport and improve their physical fitness in the after-school hours when there is less parental supervision and more potential for young people to be involved in crime
• Mission: St. Louis
  • Partners with charter schools in St. Louis City to provide a program called Beyond School,  to provide an expanded learning opportunity that prepares at-risk students ages 11-18 with the social, emotional, and academic tools needed to be successful in high school and beyond
• Northside Youth and Senior Service Center
  • The Northside Out of School Time Program, provides empowerment-based positive youth development activities for a minimum of 45 youth, ages 12-18, living in the Greater Ville and surrounding north St. Louis neighborhoods 
• Pianos for People
  • Leverages the piano as a gateway to empowerment, community, and self-esteem for young people aged 11 to 24 years who have limited resources by offering piano school, summer music camps, donated pianos, and community music events
• Prison Performing Arts
  • Aims to utilize the arts to reduce recidivism by equipping justice-involved youth with the communication and social skills needed to become productive, creative, and law-abiding citizens, both within the facilities served and upon their release
• Roosevelt High School Community Council
  • Facilitates student clubs at Roosevelt High School that provide academic enrichment and a safe haven to students ages 14-19 throughout the contract period
• Story Stitchers
  • Offers services, activities for creative use development, and the use of its center to youth ages 16-24 years old, to build resilience in underserved youth and lower their risk of exposure to or involvement in violence
• Thomas Dunn
  • Provides programs to young people aged 13-22 to reduce involvement in criminal, violent, or gang activity through social & emotional learning, life skills, mentorship, trauma-informed care, and access or referrals to community resources
• Throwing and Growing
  • Encourages healthy living and provides a safe and welcoming community space for young women by facilitating a camp in Spring and Summer. These camps shall aim to: provide low-cost learning opportunities; increase high school graduation rates and career/college placement rates; contribute to a reduction in violent crimes; and increase self-esteem, confidence, and physical abilities
• The Village 314
  • Shall engage young Black men ages 12-18 years old by providing experiences on two Saturdays a month that cultivate self-directed learning, modeling, and relationship development.  The goal is to provide as many real-life experiences as possible while addressing the audio, visual, kinesthetic, and multisensory learning style
• Wyman Center
  • Works to improve postsecondary access and persistence, as well as provide academic and social-emotional support, to high school students and recent high school graduates by providing intensive programming, mentoring, and coaching