Pillar Place served as a safe haven

Donna Day SL served for eight years as director of Intercommunity Housing at Pillar Place, located in the former Loretto Academy building in St. Louis. Pillar Place brought critically-needed housing and services to the local mostly-Black community.

While Loretto supplied the property and the building, leading the transformation of the former Academy building, built in 1908, into low-income housing and supportive services, many local religious congregations came together to sponsor the renovation, transforming the former high school into 19 affordable units. Members of local religious orders also formed the Intercommunity Housing Association that ran the organization. Pillar Place welcomed its first residents in 1993.

Donna shares a story about her work at Pillar Place:

“The very first meeting I had with the teenagers at Pillar Place, I said, ‘No one will drop out of high school, no teens will have babies to raise … your job is to stay in school and learn, no one will sell drugs on this property. If I find this happening, I will evict your family.’

“Was I harsh? Never. Was I clear on the purpose of Pillar Place? Yes. Did I have unconditional love for these kids? Always. Did anyone drop out of school? No.”

An on-site social worker assisted residents in securing daycare, jobs and education. Loretto Volunteers helped kids with computers, crafts, reading aloud and gardening. Parents were grateful for safe, affordable housing, and kids loved the on-site library, playgrounds, summer camp, homework assistance, Easter egg hunts and Santa Claus visits. Classes for adults included parenting, obtaining economic stability through gainful employment and budgeting.

In 2009, Pillar Place was forced to close after losing funding from institutions affected by the economic recession.

Read all of the articles in the winter 2026 issue of Loretto Magazine here.