Returning to St. Louis, Judith learned the rigors of urban planning under the skillful tutelage of Donald Spaid, Executive Director of the St. Louis Community Development Agency. Jointly they built the capacity of Union Sarah Economic Development Corporation and successfully won the first Urban Development Action Grant from HUD for the city to rehabilitate 150 vacant housing units for low- and moderate-income families (along Enright Avenue). Judith also worked on rehabilitating the old vacant General Van Lines building (Euclid and Delmar), turning it into the Central West Plaza with office space. Judith’s work pioneered current development efforts in Vandeventer and Fountain Park neighborhoods.  ​

​When federal funds for urban communities began to dry-up, Judith turned to the private sector for employment. She found Brown Shoe Company needed a planner for 50 shoe stores in various mall locations throughout the country. She jumped at the chance.

However, Judith wanted to go back to communities. She was hired as the Director of Development for Ecumenical Housing Production Corporation, and later the Archdiocese of Belleville as the Director of Foundations for St. Mary’s Hospital in East St. Louis. Here she provided safe rehabbed housing for 100 children who lived in lead affected conditions. Then she became the Director of Development for Catholic Charities of St. Louis, where she responsibly arranged housing rehab grants and other programs to meet the poor’s needs.  With ten years of community service, Judith's largest reuse project doing this time was the conversion of a vacant Catholic convent and school into housing for homeless men (Greater Ville) who were fathers of children and wished to become a part of their lives again. “This program offered housing and social services,” Judith said. She also said, “Housing these men became essential to the delivery of resources; successful outcomes were full employment, abilities to make regular child support payments, in some instances child custody, substantiated paternity, and legal assistance when needed. After completion, the men were able to live independently. And just as important, rehabilitation of this rather sizeable vacant space helped to stabilize the area.
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Mrs. Julia is a 70-year-old resident of The Ville. The Ville was the cornerstone of the Black community and boasts an assortment of historical buildings and who’s who in the Black community. Growing up, Mrs. Julia attended Marshall Elementary, Turner Middle, and Sumner High School, respectively. She was raised with 4 siblings, a brother and sister, and she herself was a twin.  Ms. Julia gave birth to two children, a son and a daughter who passed on. 

Growing up in The Ville, the older residents pushed the youth to strive for excellence. Ms. Julia remembers one of her first jobs was working downtown for a company called Graymont selling dry goods. She also worked at Homer G. Phillips as a mail clerk and as a clerk in the radiology dept as a film librarian before they closed. She shared a story about the closing of Homer G. Phillips and how the community was outraged over the decision. 

Eltoreon Hawkins is 26 years old and was born and raised in the small community of Walnut Park, located on the Northside of Saint Louis. In the early ‘90’s, Eltoreon and his three siblings, two sisters and one brother, were raised by a very overprotective mother, Mrs. Tryanna Pippen’s, who didn’t allow them to go outside and play in the community, so they spent a lot of time in the house being creative and entertaining themselves. Many times, Eltoreon found himself looking outside his window and seeing kids riding their bikes up and down the street and wondered what that would be like.

Over many seasons of constantly begging his mother if he could ride his bike outside, she finally gave in, but only if he wore protective gear which consisted of a bike helmet and pads. He would ride up and down the sidewalk, but as soon as he was out of his mother’s sight, he would take off the gear and hide it in the bushes and ride in the street with the kids in the neighborhood. Eltoreon attended Herzog Elementary and later attended Northwest High School, briefly. It was at this critical point in life were Eltoreon started going down the wrong path, so his mom sent him to live with his aunt and uncle for the summer. 

His uncle Joe drove for Allen Cab, and he noticed that his uncle would come home every night with a lot of money from work which he used to take care of his family. Eltoreon noticed that with the earnings his uncle made from driving a cab, he was able to purchase a home, a car, and take care of his family all while being a middle school dropout. Over the summer, Eltoreon and his uncle would have many conversations which gave him the foundation to get focused, because one day he would have his own family to raise. ​

He returned to Roosevelt Highschool in the fall with a drive to succeed. One of the classes he took a liking to was shop class which was taught by Mr. Bart who allowed him to stay after school and build bookshelves and dog houses. When the students would come back to shop class the next day, they would notice these projects over to the side and ask who built them. The shop teacher would say, “those are Eltoreon’s projects.” Shortly after, other students started staying after school in the shop class. Eltoreon was instrumental in helping to create the after-school shop program, and he stays in contact with Mr. Bart until this day.

Eltoreon’s first job was working for Operation Brightside where he and other young men helped clean up the community. He also worked for Millennium Restoration rehabbing houses in South City. Some of Eltoreon’s fondest memories growing up in Walnut Park were at the annual neighborhood block party on Schulte and when his neighborhood Block Captain would gather the youth in the community for a trip to Six Flags. ​​

​In 2017, Eltoreon helped create the Finest 15, a program which highlights 15 of the best vacant properties in different neighborhoods in the City. He was motivated by his mentor, past Aldermen Chris Carter, who would take him to community meetings in Walnut Park. When Eltoreon purchased his first house from the Land Reutilization Authority (LRA), the City’s landbank, and started rehabbing it, Chris Carter took notice and started bringing Eltoreon to a lot of community meetings. At these early meetings he started building relationships in the political arena that he still maintains now. “During the Obama/Trump Administration people outside the community saw the Walnut Park area as a very violent area, and it truly doesn’t have much violence, but it does have a drug problem, but no different than any suburb.” Eltoreon stated that he would love to see the block parties and the block captains getting back involved with the youth. “I want to mix fun and community building together. By doing this it will help to unify the community and get them back involved in being a positive force in the community.”

Pamela McLucas returned to her family home by heirship expanded by her perception of how the community is built. In 1986, her parents purchased a home with the expectation of gaining property equity and passing the investment along. In 1998 she was married, and Pamela and her husband purchased their own home in the Lewis Place Neighborhood.

Her experience as a real estate professional affords her to work with developers daily.  Presently she serves as Secretary for Park Place Housing and Economic Development, Inc, which is a member of the Community Builders Network She is also a member of the Delmar Corridor Collaborative. Pamela recently joined the St. Louis team for the Strategic Code Enforcement Management Academy. She also is a member of the St. Louis Association of Realtors, the Missouri Association of Realtors, and the National Association of Realtors.  In 2003, Pamela was inducted as the St. Louis Chapter for Women's Council of Realtors and has served on multiple local real estate committees while being a member of the Holy Ground Collaborative and STL Village Community Education Committee. In 2020, she also served as the interim Committeewoman for the 18th Ward after the passing of Committeewoman Ellen Todd and after being nominated by John Watson for approval by the Democratic Central Committee. 

Pamela McLucas stated that it is a privilege to serve and grow where a difference can be made.  Community starts with people, and the people should have a voice for their desires and thoughts. The community deserves to have a listening ear to the ground and be able to vocalize their needs through the representative who takes their interests to heart. ​

Updates on the Social Justice 4 All website states, “The houses have been transported from the schools to the site at 3633 N. Market thanks to HWP Rigging”.  The houses are placed upon permanent foundations connected to MSD, City water, and Ameren. Volunteers completed all interior finishing.  Both houses built by the schools are now complete and occupied by formerly homeless individuals.”  The third house is now under construction.  The pandemic restrictions halted most work by volunteers, and a construction company built the framing, but currently, volunteers are working on completing the job and finishing the interior. Many community businesses and individuals are generously contributing building materials and specialized skills to ensure the house will be concluded by the end of the 2020 fiscal year. 

​The next step is critical. County students at Rockwood schools learned a great deal about geometry and construction and the needs of those less fortunate. It was a top-rated program at Rockwood; it started with one class at each of two high schools and now is in four schools with seven courses. SJ4A’s goal is to begin Geometry in Construction class at an SLPS high school as a pilot program to provide the same opportunities to City students.  The Covid pandemic indeed halted any progress on that effort, but it remains a high priority. The trades are a viable option to college for many students, and the opportunity to combine studies with a practical application of learned skills should be an option.  “For good measure, they want city school students to be a part of it.” (Beene, 2019). The North St. Louis construction project spearheaded by Social Justice 4 All and the North Grand Neighborhood Services (NGNS) has provided homeless individuals with permanent, energy-efficient housing.  Dianne Marshak said, “No one should have to live on the streets. Shame on our society for not solving this issue.”   (Engel, 2018).

Bob stated, “Tiny houses are cost-effective and are being used in other cities to address homelessness issues. St. Louis can be next. Together, all of us can make a difference in the lives of those who face this trauma.” (Engel, 2018)