State Historical Society Accepts Caring Communities Archive Records

The idea germinated for over 35 years.... former Caring Communities Operations Manager Veronica Banks stored and maintained Caring Communities original records, books, articles, briefs, books, pictures, newspaper clippings, booklets, research papers about the school based, public-private partnership that gained national acclaim over a thirteen ear period. Banks was responsible for organizing the site visits to Caring Communities from across the country and globally. She recognized the value of the Caring Communities lessons learned; Banks dreamed of having the resources placed in an archival library or historical institution.

Walbridge Caring Communities Program was a highly acclaimed pilot program that began in St. Louis on May 15, 1989. Wrap-around services were provided to students and families in the crime-infested neighborhood of Walnut Park. These included counseling, substance abuse counseling, crisis intervention, day treatment, pre-employment, after school tutoring, latchkey, health liaison, student assistance and anti-gang/anti-drug activities.

A successful evaluation of Walbridge Caring Communities Program resulted in the expansion of the program sites from 1 to 20 program sites across the city of St. Louis; all community-based and school linked.

"I always believed that the resources were invaluable. Papers, books, pictures and more It was Delegates from all over the world visited Walbridge Caring Communities during its operations; some representatives visited us from Amsterdam and Israeli. So I held the records with the dream of making records and resources available to future generations. For this to be happening is a dream come true" Banks stated.

A.J. Medlock, St. Louis Research Center, examined the records during the sorting process. He said that it may be one of the largest collections to be received by the State Historical Society of Missouri -- in some time.