Committee backs $7.88 million FEMA counseling grant for tornado survivors

Alderman Boyd introduced Board Bill 133 on Feb. 5, an ordinance authorizing the commissioner of the St. Louis City Department of Health to enter into the FEMA Crisis Counseling Program consulting agreement and accept $7,878,253.60 in awarded funds. The clerk read the ordinance as recommended by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment.

Craig Schmidt, representing the City Department of Health, said the award funnels FEMA funding through the state and Missouri Behavioral Health Council to support crisis counseling work for tornado survivors. Schmidt said the funds will help the department offset staff salaries and provide mileage reimbursement and other support for outreach.

Beau Richmond, bureau chief for the Behavioral Health Bureau, described the program timeline and activities. He said the FEMA immediate service period (ISP) typically covers the first 90–120 days after an award, followed by a regular service period (RSP) that can extend roughly nine months; the full CCRP-supported effort often covers about a year pending second-phase awards. Richmond said allowable uses include training, printed materials, marketing, mileage reimbursement and staff time, and that outreach uses the Show Me Hope Missouri branding rather than naming the CCP grant publicly.

Richmond outlined operational practices already underway: weekly coordination calls with participating agencies, use of an online Basecamp tool for real-time coordination, canvassing in communities, tabling at events, and biweekly meetings with FEMA to track how funding is used among partners. He told the committee there were approximately 40 participants in initial CCP training and that agencies involved include Bootheel Behavioral Health, BJC Behavioral Health, People’s Health Center, Places for People, Queen of Peace, Freedom Community Center, Empower Institute and restorative-justice partners.

Committee members praised the award and the department’s work. A roll-call vote recorded ayes and the committee advanced Board Bill 133 with a due-pass recommendation to the full Board of Aldermen.

The ordinance authorizes acceptance and appropriation of the funds and contains an emergency clause; the committee did not specify additional reporting requirements during the meeting.