The losses from St. Louis’ May 16 tornado reached more than $1 billion in property damage, but some of the most precious items destroyed in the storm were people’s official documents. Now, a key part of the recovery is replacing them. The Missouri State ID Access Coalition, housed under St. Francis Xavier College Church and the Ashrei Foundation, is assisting St. Louisans impacted by the tornado who need documents like birth certificates.
“A birth certificate is the essential step in order to get your state-issued photo ID,” said Sheree Hickman, the Missouri State ID Access Coalition’s director. “A few reasons that folks have reported they need their ID is for employment, housing, financial services,” she continued. “And right now, in such a devastating time when you are just looking for those basic needs, and your identification is under a pile of rubble or has flown away.”
Andre Cole is the founder and executive director of Urban City Services. As a Missouri State ID Access Coalition partner, his nonprofit usually operates in the Soulard neighborhood with a focus on the area’s homeless community.
After the tornado, Urban City Services turned immediately to assisting people in north St. Louis through ID “blitzes.” The scheduled clinics have included transportation to and from the group’s site at Natural Bridge Road and Clarence Avenue, where volunteers and notaries help people fill out forms for government documents; the group is also offering rides, coordinated with community partners like The T, to vital records offices and the DMV.
“I had a lady I helped just a week ago who lost everything,” Cole said. “She didn't have a birth certificate or state ID or Social Security card. All of these things were destroyed in the tornado.”
Cole added that minors who lacked government documents even before the tornado face a unique challenge.
“If you've never had a birth certificate or an ID, it's going to be hard to get [them] if you 17 or 18 years old,” he said. “That's been a challenge throughout our tenure with providing this service. A lot of minors can't get their stuff, and we deal with a lot of people that may have been in foster homes.”
There are fees for birth certificates and state ID, but Hickman said the cost should not be a deterrent to those who need to replace or obtain their identification documents: “For an ID, the cost for a six-year ID is $18, but we provide those financial services for you, so we will give you a check for that as well as the birth certificate.”
Hickman continued, “When we look at access to housing and in terms of the tornado, any of those things … we often refer to [ID] as a key. There are these doors that are naturally put in that a lot of people don't have access to unless you have that identification. So that's why [this work] is so key, especially during this time.”
For information about St. Louis clinic locations run by Missouri State ID Access Coalition members, which includes Red Cross shelter ID clinics, and clinic schedules, click here.
To hear the full conversation, including what people who need to replace or obtain state-issued identification should have when they seek help at a Missouri State ID Access Coalition clinic, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. The production intern is Darrious Varner. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
