Rebuilding St. Louis: Turning Crisis into Opportunity
By Michael Woods
Co-founder and President of Dream Builders 4 Equity
Even two and a half months later, signs of the EF-3 tornado that tore through St. Louis still linger across many neighborhoods. Nearly 5,000 homes and buildings were damaged. Four lives were lost. Entire neighborhoods, already struggling from decades of disinvestment, are still picking up the pieces and working to rebuild.
And yet, for many of these communities, the tornado is only the latest challenge. Since the 1950s, St. Louis City has lost more than half its population. More than 24,000 properties now sit vacant, and neighborhoods like Hyde Park, once vibrant and filled with mixed-income families and thriving businesses, have been hollowed out over time.
This is why the work we do at Dream Builders 4 Equity matters now more than ever. I spoke about this vision on the TEDxStLouis stage during my talk, “Building Wealth Through Ownership in Black Communities.” I shared how true transformation requires more than bricks and mortar. It requires ownership, influence, and a new story for our communities. Today, as we help our neighbors recover from disaster, that vision is no longer just a call to action. It is our daily reality.
Restoring Homes. Rebuilding Hope.
At Dream Builders 4 Equity, we are committed to breathing life back into neighborhoods others have written off, and doing it in a way that centers the people who live there.
We pay and train local youth, pairing them with minority contractors to learn skilled trades while building the confidence to lead. We repair the homes of seniors, helping them age in place and adding equity to their properties so they can preserve their family’s legacy. We also purchase vacant nuisance homes, fully rehabilitate them, and sell them to new homebuyers, helping stabilize blocks and bring long-term residents back to these neighborhoods. And we invest in Black- and Brown-owned businesses, ensuring that every dollar we spend stays in the community.
For the young people in our program, “ownership” is not just about property. It’s about claiming their story, their future, and their community’s outcomes. We take them door-to-door in Hyde Park, where they listen to residents, earn trust, and plant seeds of pride and responsibility. That seed grows, inspiring them to show up again and again, and to bring their peers with them.
Answering the Call After the Storm
When the tornado struck, our work took on new urgency. Our youth cleared debris alongside volunteers and contractors, checked on seniors, and helped assess the damage. We boarded up homes, tarped damaged roofs, removed fallen trees, and even hosted a free clothing giveaway at our retail store, House of Vision, to help families replace what they had lost. Today, we’re not only repairing homes, but also helping families stay rooted by offering free moving and storage assistance for storm-impacted residents, including up to six months of free storage, so they have the time and support they need to recover without losing their place in the community. We’re channeling our expertise in community rebuilding into making sure recovery resources help families return and thrive, rather than pushing them out of the neighborhoods they call home.
Disasters like this expose the cracks in our systems. But they also give us a chance to rebuild in a way that is more equitable, more inclusive, and more sustainable. We are working to ensure that federal and state recovery funds strengthen, not displace, our communities.
Influence Can Be More Powerful Than Money
Through this work, I have learned that the most valuable resource we have is not bricks or dollars. It is influence.
The contractors we work with now see their projects as more than jobs. They see them as opportunities to mentor youth and invest in the neighborhoods they grew up in. Seniors, whose homes we’ve repaired and improved, now have added equity and pride in their blocks. And every job we award to a Black- or Brown-owned business strengthens the local economy and builds wealth that can stay in these neighborhoods for generations.
According to the Brookings Institution, Black-owned businesses employed 1.3 million people, created nearly 50,000 jobs, and added $1.7 billion in payroll to the United States economy in 2020. By building these ecosystems here in North St. Louis, we are making sure our communities share in that kind of impact.
Rewriting the Narrative
For too long, North St. Louis has been defined by numbers that tell only a story of decline, with crime rates, poverty rates, and population loss. But that is not the full picture. Our neighborhoods are filled with resilience, history, and potential.
At Dream Builders 4 Equity, we use storytelling as a tool to shift how our communities are seen and supported. When we share stories of youth stepping up as leaders, of seniors gaining security and equity in their homes, of neighbors coming together in the wake of a storm, we change the conversation, and with it, the resources and opportunities that flow into these areas.
Why This Matters Now
As I said on the TEDxStLouis stage, “Ownership is the foundation for wealth and empowerment.” Today, that belief drives every decision we make.
The tornado reminded us that rebuilding is about more than nails and shingles. It is about restoring dignity, creating opportunities, and giving people the power to shape their future. That is what Dream Builders 4 Equity is here to do, not just in times of crisis, but every single day.I invite you to join us: to volunteer, to invest, to spread the stories of resilience, and to help us ensure that the future of St. Louis belongs to the people who call it home.
Written with collaboration from Nikki Joseph, Dream Builders 4 Equity’s chief operating officer.
The TEDxStLouis Speaker Spotlight Series celebrates speakers from the St. Louis area, highlighting their latest projects, ideas, and sources of inspiration. Join us at our next live event Friday, September 5 at TEDxStLouis Women 2025: Future Focus – Envisioning What’s Next! Follow us on social media, join our email list, and discover how you can get involved at tedxsaintlouis.org.