On May 16, staff members at the Urban League Women’s Business Center and the Small Business Administration were wrapping up a week of helping new entrepreneurs when a tornado of historic proportions tore through their north St. Louis neighborhood.

As plate-glass windows shattered and winds topping 100 mph battered the former Commerce Bank building on Natural Bridge, staffers huddled in a bank vault and prayed for safety.

Months later, the building has been repaired and reborn. It now houses the STLRecovers Outreach Center, a new hub designed to help connect residents affected by the tornado with city services and resources.

The Outreach Center enhances the city’s effort to personally reach residents still struggling to rebuild. It delivers city services directly to people in need, inclu

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