Community Collaboration is Key for the Future of Grace Hill
by Janis Greenbaum,
Director of Communications
June 26, 2023
Local arts, community, and religious leaders along with St. Louis city planners and the management team of a New Orleans center for children and youth are providing input as the Diocese of Missouri considers ministry options for our Grace Hill property in Old North St. Louis.
The Grace Hill Task Force, which includes lay and clergy members from throughout the Diocese, held a planning workshop on June 13 at the Episcopal Church of All Saints and Ascension in Northwoods to engage in discussion about the future of the Grace Hill campus.
About Grace Hill
The Grace Hill property includes the original Grace Church, which was founded in 1846 and rebuilt in 1923, along with several other buildings on more than four acres just off I-70 in the Old North St. Louis neighborhood.
A portion of the property is currently being leased by Affinia Health as office space. And we have a one-year lease with St. Patrick Center, which is using one wing of the campus as a center for assessment and referral of unhoused people. But the majority of the property is unused and ready to be revitalized.
Bishop Deon Johnson formed a task force in 2021 to research and make recommendations for possible uses of Grace Hill that align with the mission of the Diocese. Clark Davis, a member of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Ladue, is the chair of the task force. The task force is considering the leadership and support that will be necessary to sustain a program that fits in with the vision of the Diocese.
“We are not likely to do this all by ourselves,” Clark said. “We’re reaching out to potential partners to get ideas for the best use of the property.”
Anna’s Place
One such partner is Anna’s Place from New Orleans. Anna’s Place was founded in 2009 as a way to meet community needs following Hurricane Katrina. It has since transformed to become a comprehensive arts-based activities and academic center for youth in the Tremé / 7th Ward community of New Orleans.
Earlier this year, Bishop Deon Johnson sent Grace Hill Task Force members the Rev. Renee Fenner and Valerie Patton to New Orleans to get a first-hand look at this thriving community mission for children and youth.
“It was just amazing to see how it worked,” said Renee. “It’s more than an after school program. They care about the whole child.”
Renee and Valorie were impressed with what they saw and invited members of Anna’s Place to St. Louis to make a presentation at the June 13 workshop.
Founder Darryl Durham and three additional members of Anna’s Place came to St. Louis, toured the Grace Hill campus, and offered personal and professional insights from their experiences in New Orleans to help our task force in their planning process. Durham explained how he began by considering the needs of the children in his community and developed programming around that. Then he found the right facility and the best faculty, determined how much it was going to cost, and hired a development director to raise the money he needed.
“Faith is such a beautiful thing. There were so many times when I didn’t think we could do this,” Durham said. “All you gotta do is believe. When you see kids respond to your beliefs, you know you’re on the right path.”
Dr. Caven Davis, the Executive Director of Anna’s Place, grew up in the neighborhood that is now home to Anna’s Place. He went on to become a special education teacher and football coach before taking the job with Anna’s Place. “I knew God had something planned for me to make kids’ lives better,” Davis said. “My goal is to make sure we create a strong team to serve the kids we love and protect our community.”
Davis pointed to the 30+ youth who have died from gun violence so far this year in St. Louis. “The only way to combat that is to change the trajectory of their lives. We have everything in this room right now to change things.”
Kristie Eugene, the program director at Anna’s Place, says she saw ways to change things as she toured the Grace Hill campus. She saw a performance stage where there is now an empty circle area. She saw a coffee shop or grocery store where there is now a dilapidated old building.
“You’re only limited by your imagination,” Eugene said. “You have a great area to work with. Use it wisely, think outside the box.”
Kairu Jackson, the director of development at Anna’s Place, says thinking outside the box is also important when it comes to funding the project. “Change everything you see as a disadvantage into an advantage,” Jackson said.
For example, Jackson suggested Grace Hill’s location might make it perfect for an urban farming grant, which takes proximity to highways into consideration. He also encouraged developing an “elevator pitch” to get donations. “Paint a picture. Tie it to emotion. Make people fall in love with your story,” Jackson said. “Don’t be afraid. People want to give money. They just want to give to the right people.”
Founder Darryl Durham also emphasized how important it is to work with other organizations who may already be doing good work in the community.
Community Collaboration
Representatives from some of those local organizations were at the meeting to pitch their dreams for the Grace Hill property. Possible collaborators include:
- Aimee Dunlap from the Old North St. Louis Redevelopment Group suggested a community center to serve children, youth, families, and senior citizens in the area.
- Bishop Michael Robins from City Hope St. Louis discussed his work to define safe spaces for shelter and holistic youth arts programming.
- Trish Flanagan and Felicia Kennedy from Building Futures encouraged intentional programming for children and families.
- Robert Powell is the founder of Portfolio, Inc. and is looking for space for a gallery and education center to educate, enrich lives, and foster a greater awareness of artists of African American heritage.
- Megan Poole and Carly Smale from St. Patrick Center (currently leasing a wing of the Grace Hill campus) would like to expand their health services and become a place of respite for the unhoused as they are coming out of the hospital.
St. Louis City Planning
The Grace Hill Task Force is also talking with the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) as we consider ministry options. The SLDC is developing an economic justice action plan to support six neighborhoods of the city, including Old North. The goals of their plan are to:
- Strengthen neighborhoods
- Close the wealth gap
- Improve health and education outcomes
- Expand the tax base
- Grow the city’s population
The Economic Justice Action Plan hopes to leverage community assets to transform physical, social, and economic aspects of neighborhoods like Old North to improve the quality of life.
SLDC’s Bobby Stewart says their research shows Old North is connected and engaged. He says the growth and improvement of the neighborhood will contribute to better serving and supporting the community and surrounding neighbors.
“Old North is where creativity meets history,” Stewart said. “It’s an arts and cultural center for the north side of St. Louis.”
What’s next...
Whatever recommendations the Grace Hill Task Force ultimately makes, chair Clark Davis says the group agrees they will need a solid plan for leadership and funding. The Task Force will continue to meet and discuss options for our Grace Hill property.
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