Beyond Housing CEO Chris Krehmeyer spoke to a group of members at the 24:1 Cinema, a small Pagedale cinema complex named after the 24:1 Initiative, a community development effort addressing “fundamental challenges within the municipalities in the Normandy school district in North St. Louis County.”
Beyond Housing serves to help build sustaining and thriving communities by organizing a comprehensive community development program that
- Supports families and children
- Offers pride and ownership of their community
- Creates pathways to homeownership, health, and jobs
- Involves the community in economic development initiatives
- Provides holistic resources and support
“...created to help solve the serious challenges facing residents of the communities within the geographic boundaries of the Normandy School District.”
Krehmeyer remarked, “It’s about pride. It’s about the confidence” given through their youth literacy program and in its neighbors and partners investing in community services that allow a budget, “a moral document” of accountability, where the final product has a place where people want to embrace it.
Beyond Housing employs a staff of 100. During the 2020 pandemic, volunteers of the initiative helped give out 3,000 meals; and, in 10 years, repaired over 1,000 housing units.
In addition, the 24:1 Municipal Partnership and the Missouri Federation for Health are empowering an initiative called Codes Count to upgrade and standardize code enforcement across the 24:1 community. This includes the improvement of maintenance, property, and building codes. To learn more about Codes Count, visit this website.
To volunteer and connect with Beyond Housing, click here.