Mission

Cultivate innovation and brilliance to produce socioeconomic change agents for the future.

Vision

Establish an equitable, sustainable, transformative community.

History

Refuge and Restoration nonprofit was founded in 1999 by Pastors Ken and Beverly Jenkins, Black indigenous leaders, as a transitional home in St. Louis for men who were homeless, under-employed, unemployed, or previously incarcerated. While R&R’s immediate impact was evident, a large gap was uncovered in the community of marriage and family counseling, crisis outreach, youth services, and workforce development. R&R has managed a career training program, Jobs for Life, for two decades and has led over 3000 individuals to stable and meaningful careers. The decades of career training, building relationships with individuals and families, and lived experience in this community has led the Jenkins to create the R&R Marketplace vision and project.
R&R has spent the last five years developing a sustainable economic development model in a multi-use facility to create access to equitable opportunity.

Challenge & Solution

Refuge & Restoration addresses the pervasive economic and social distress which negatively affects our community, like countless urban communities across our country. Economic and societal distrust lead to a genuine feeling of hopelessness which gives rise to a seemingly endless cycle of poverty. This cycle is perpetuated by lack of resources, poor education, unemployment, and unhealthy living conditions. Adding to the cycle are repeated services, wage and income disparities, disinvestment, and lack of equity in business opportunity and home ownership.

The R&R Marketplace property, owned by the R&R nonprofit, is strategically positioned within one of the busiest sections of the West Florissant corridor, becomes the epicenter of change throughout the entire North County. According to the Department of Motor Vehicle statistics, over 30,000 vehicles travel the West Florissant corridor daily.

R&R is redeveloping land that sat vacant for over fifteen years. Located ¼ mile from a residential area, the neighborhood is characterized by lack of equity, low percentage of home ownership and little access to capital.

Dedicated to providing critical support, businesses and services to the economy, R&R will serve individuals and families in the region through workforce development, early childhood education, financial empowerment, entrepreneurial advancement, and a multiplex facility that will host community structured opportunities, including but not limited to a church, health and wellness, events and the arts.

The R&R Marketplace will be the cornerstone of the community; committed to growing the economy by revitalizing a fragmented community through equitable opportunities that lead to expansion of business and growth of resources.

In order to create modern, state of the art facilities that support the needs of the community, R&R is raising $16M to fund an integrated project budget comprised of acquisition, construction and delivery of much-needed resources such as early childhood education, health services, workforce development services, and access to capital. The result will be a self-sustaining model for community development and growth. With your support, we can complete this critical phase and begin to empower and transform this economically disadvantaged area into a thriving community.