A Veteran Helping Veterans - Department of Human Services, City of St. Louis


Department of Human Services

Barbara J. Selders, Director

634 North Grand Blvd.
7th Floor
St. Louis, MO 63103
(314) 612-5900
Fax: (314) 612-5959

General Information

The City of St. Louis' Department of Human Services is that unit of city government mandated by the City Charter to administer social welfare programs. The Department presently coordinates programming and funding for the Office on the Disabled, Homeless Services, St. Louis Area Agency on Aging, Veterans Affairs, and Youth and Family Services.

As a unit of City government, funding sources are City General Revenue, as well as state and federal revenue. The overall Departmental activities are guided by the City Charter, the Mayor, and the Board of Aldermen.

The Department of Human services provides only Information and Referral as a direct service to the citizens of the City of St. Louis. Other services are provided via subcontracts and partnerships with public and private entities. Thus, the Department has a long and rich history of fiscal management, contract negotiations, payment by reimbursement, contract monitoring, and data collection for evaluation purposes.

Fiscal Services. The Fiscal Unit of the Department coordinates the overall budget; including, but not limited to receipt of funds, payment of vouchers, coordinating fiscal issues for the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, and establishing the Department's Chart of Accounts.

Veterans' Affairs

This division act as an advocate to those veterans within the city of St. Louis, who are at risk because of poverty and poor living conditions. Working within governmental and voluntary coordinating and planning groups, needs assessments on veterans' issues are conducted. In addition, this division seeks public and private grant resources for direct assistance to veterans and their families in employment and supportive services. Veterans Affairs administers employment programs sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, Veterans Employment and Training Service.
  • Programs for homeless veterans such as the Homeless Veterans Employment Project prepare veterans for successful work situations and remove barriers to their full employment. This project provides housing, meals, clothing, medical, legal, employment, and a variety of supporting services, with sponsoring agencies.
  • The Special Veterans On-the-Job Training Program provides job training situations for veterans with private employers who step forward to hire and train vets, and gain from their reliability and "can do" attitude.
  • Veterans Resource Directory is over 100 pages of resources compiled annually in a single directory, which is widely used and distributed throughout the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. The Directory is available at the Veterans' Affairs Office free of charge.

Point of Contact for veteran help is:

Mr. Michael (Mike) Bounds (Persian Gulf Era Veteran)
E-mail: BoundsM@stlouiscity.com
Out of Office Tuesday & Thursday
Best time to contact 9-11 AM
Office: (314) 612-5957
Fax: (314)-612-5929

Mail Address: City of St. Louis Department of Human Services
634 N. Grand Blvd, Room - 722
St. Louis, MO 63103

The main responsibilities of Mike's office is to provide veterans with proper referrals for veteran benefits, and provide service for at risk veterans. Mike's office also has a grant from the Department of Labor, that is called the Homeless Veteran Reintegration Project for short it is called the HVRP grant. The money is subcontracted out to community based organizations, they are the Salvation Army Harbor Light, Career Works, and the St. Patrick Center. These organizations help to get the veterans off the street and into suitable housing and find employment. Mike's office also serves as an advocate for veterans. This June Mike will acquire National Service Officer training.