It’s Thanksgiving morning, and around 60 people are lined up on Locust Street in front of what was once a massive homeless shelter run by the New Life Evangelistic Center.
Before it was shut down by the City of St. Louis in 2017, that shelter in Downtown West could fit up to 300 people on a given night. Now, people aren’t allowed in the building.
Normally, they can still expect a hot meal on Thanksgiving, as well as other supplies and coffee. But what New Life described as a problem with a caterer means the bunch gathered outside the former shelter gets a $10 Kentucky Fried Chicken gift card instead. The KFC a few blocks away is closed on Thanksgiving, and the next closest locations are both around four miles away—making for a dispiriting holiday…