ST. LOUIS — Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church in north St. Louis is where Deborah Walton found the strength to turn her life around.

“I was out on the streets doing drugs,” she said.

 The church was one of the first in the St. Louis area to partner with the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and its Grill to Glory program.

 “It all started with one hot dog,” said Pastor J.B. Garris of Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church.

Walton said she felt comfortable coming to church barbecues. That level of comfort led her to seek the help she needed.

“I feel much better now,” she said.

The summertime barbecues are set to resume at the end of May. The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis reported that more than 400 churches are now participating.

“It gives us the opportunity to know each other and change lives,” Garris said. “That one simple, little hot dog has changed so many lives.”

James Clark, vice president of Public Safety for the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, said the message from neighborhood residents is clear. 

“We want to galvanize,” he said.  “We want to mobilize, and we need resources, and the best place to come to get resources is the neighborhood church.”

Clark said some of the Urban League’s resources are also delivered through family resource enrollments established at some churches.  

He said case managers can monitor neighborhood needs and help connect residents with necessary resources, such as job training.

The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis reports more than 100,000 area residents have engaged in the Grill to Glory program.  

Clark is calling on more area churches to find ways to strengthen the neighborhoods they serve.

“Law enforcement plays a very important role,” Clark said. “Our elected officials play a very important role, but we are being very intentional about how we can increase the activity and resource delivery through neighborhood churches to families that live in some of our more challenged neighborhoods.”

He encourages any church interested in learning more about how they can become a pipeline for resources in their community to contact the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis.