July 18, 2025

Seeking Disaster Relief

Hello from your favorite senator, Angela Mosley! This week I want to discuss some tips to help you if you need to go to a Disaster Recovery Center. 

Disaster Recovery Centers (locations listed below) can help you apply for assistance, check the status of your application, answer questions or concerns about disaster aid, interpret letters you’ve received from FEMA, provide info on Small Business Administration loans and refer you to other programs and agencies for additional assistance. 

They ask that those in need of help be prepared to share their phone number, social security number, the insurance policy number (if applicable), banking information, a general list of damages and losses, and the address of your damaged home as well as current address. They also recommend you keep any receipts for disaster-related expenses. 

They recommend first applying for FEMA assistance online at DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 800-621-3362. Reminder that the FEMA application for the storms on March 14-15 is July 22 and the deadline for the May 16 storms is Aug. 11.

Also, if you don’t have a safe place to live as a result of these storms, FEMA has announced additional aid to help with rent. You must first apply for FEMA assistance, then you can inform them of your need.

In addition, the American Institute of Architects is offering free home repair consultations at St. Louis City hall between noon and 3 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays, and Missouri Realtors is providing a relief fund that residents can apply for at missourirealtor.org/resources/foundation or by calling 314-530-2951. The deadline for applications is July 31.

In other news, I am happy to share the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has announced a Substance Use Disorder Grant Program to help provide funds to drug prevention, recovery or treatment projects. To apply for this funding you must be registered with MissouriBUYS at missouribuys.mo.gov/supplier-registration. You can also find a place to dispose of old or unused medications through MyOldMeds.com. This website, sponsored by the Pharmaceutical Product Stewardship Work Group (PPSWG), helps residents know where they can dispose of medication but also instruction on how to manage medications and discussions you can have with your family.

I wanted to share some legal services that specifically assist Black women and girls. Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM) provides free legal aid for civil issues in and around St. Louis. Meanwhile, Sisters Helping Each Other Reach a Higher Height is a nonprofit based in St. Louis that helps Black women and girls with transitional housing and programs to help them develop skills. Life Source Consultants can help with therapy and court advocacy and St. Louis Survivors Legal Support offers pro bono legal representation for domestic violence protective cases. ArchCity Defenders is a nonprofit who provide civil and criminal representation while the Black Female Attorney’s Network (BFA) is a statewide association that can refer you to trusted attorney’s and even pro bono offers. Finally, the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence (MCADSV) can help you find the services you need for your specific situation. 

For more information on Sen. Angela Mosley’s legislative actions, please visit her official Senate website at senate.mo.gov/Mosley. If you, or a loved one, are struggling with thoughts of suicide or self-harm please call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.

Disaster Recovery Centers

St. Louis County Library Mid-County Branch
 7821 Maryland Ave.
 Clayton, MO 63105

Hours
 Monday-Thursday: 8 a.m.-7 p.m.
 Friday-Saturday: 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
 Sunday: Closed

St. Louis County Library Prairie Commons Branch
 915 Utz Ln.
 Hazelwood, MO 63042

Hours
 Monday-Thursday: 8 a.m.-7 p.m.
 Friday-Saturday: 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
 Sunday: Closed

Urban League Entrepreneurship and Women’s Business Center
 4401 Natural Bridge Ave.
 St. Louis, MO 63115

Hours
 Monday-Saturday: 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
 Sunday: 8 a.m.-6 p.m.

Union Tabernacle M.B. Church
 626 N. Newstead Ave.
 St. Louis, MO 63108

Hours
 Monday-Saturday: 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
 Sunday: Closed

Sumner High School — Parking Lot
 4248 Cottage Ave.
 St. Louis, MO 63113

Hours
 Monday-Saturday: 8 a.m.-7 p.m.
 Sunday: 8 a.m.-6 p.m.