Locked Out Tonight in St. Louis? Where a Teen Can Go
Revised October 23, 2026
Where can a homeless or runaway teen get emergency shelter in St. Louis tonight?
For a safe place tonight, young people 16 to 24 can walk into Covenant House Missouri at 2727 N Kingshighway Blvd, open 24/7; for bed availability call (314) 351-4866. Ages 10 to 19 can call Youth In Need’s 24-Hour Help Line at 636-946-3771, and it accepts collect calls. Anywhere, call 1-800-786-2929. In danger? Call 911.
Keep reading ↓“I need Safe Place help.” Five words. Say them to the person behind the counter at a QuikTrip or a Walgreens, under the hum of the coolers and the white light that never shuts off, or to the driver of a Metro bus or train. Youth In Need, the regional Safe Place provider in eastern Missouri, says every site is trained to call a designated help line, and a Safe Place case worker is then sent right away to assess the situation and, if it comes to that, pick the young person up and take them to a shelter. The program is free for any child or teen who needs help.
If you’re the teenager reading this with your hood up and your phone almost dead, breathe. You are not in trouble for needing a bed. If you’re the aunt, the coach, the teacher or the friend whose couch ran out, you’re in the right place too. Everything below is the door, the number and who it is for, so you can stop scrolling and start dialing. If anyone is in danger right now, call 911 first. For rent, food and everything that comes after tonight, we keep a wider guide to help and assistance across St. Louis.
Where can a homeless or runaway teen get emergency shelter in St. Louis tonight?
For a safe place tonight, young people 16 to 24 can walk into Covenant House Missouri at 2727 N Kingshighway Blvd, open 24/7; for bed availability call (314) 351-4866. Ages 10 to 19 can call Youth In Need’s 24-Hour Help Line at 636-946-3771, and it accepts collect calls. Anywhere, call 1-800-786-2929. In danger? Call 911.
Two numbers matter at Covenant House, and most lists only give you one. The general line is 314-533-2241. But the shelter’s own Get Help page says that for bed availability, call (314) 351-4866. Dial that one first and you skip a transfer while the battery bar turns red.
Here is what waits on the other side of that call. Covenant House runs the Genesis Shelter Program, a 20-bed emergency shelter where youth can stay for up to 30 days, with longer stays approved case by case. Intake is first-come, first-served, and the shelter describes its approach as open intake and housing first, meaning services are open to all with no prerequisites. Staff start with the basics, food and clean clothes, before anyone asks you to fill out a plan. Then they sit down with each young person and work out the next step together.
Age decides the door. Sixteen and up, Covenant House on North Kingshighway in the city. Ten to nineteen, Youth In Need, the agency based in St. Charles. Sixteen to nineteen and not sure? Call both. Nobody on either line will be annoyed that you asked.
The five words work on a bus, too
Safe Place is the St. Louis-area option almost nobody mentions, and it is built for the moment you have no plan at all: standing at a bus stop at night, the doors folding open in front of you, nowhere to tell the driver you are going. Youth In Need is the regional provider of Safe Place services in eastern Missouri, and it lists its sites as all QuikTrips, Walgreens, Gateway Region YMCAs, St. Charles City-County Libraries and most fire departments, as well as all Metro buses and trains in Missouri. Look for the yellow and black Safe Place sign. Walk in, find an employee, and say you need Safe Place help. That is the whole script.
Youth In Need is specific about who it is for: a young person who is a runaway, lost, in danger, being abused, locked out of the house, having trouble at home or school, avoiding a bully, on an unsafe date, or in a car with an unsafe or drunk driver. Locked out with the porch light off counts. So does a ride that went wrong. You do not have to prove anything to the person at the register. Safe Place staff also give talks to schools, churches and youth groups about the program and the St. Louis County Youth Connection Helpline. For more information, the number is 636-614-4055.
Can a 16 year old go to a homeless shelter without a parent’s signature in Missouri?
This is the question that keeps a lot of teenagers curled up in the back seat of a car with the engine off, and Missouri has its own answer, written into state law. A national hotline script will not read it to you. Section 431.056 of the Missouri statutes says a minor is qualified and competent to contract for housing and for admission to a homeless shelter, among other things, when four things are true at once.
In plain words: first, you are 16 or 17. Second, you are homeless, unless you are already under the Children’s Division or the juvenile court. Third, you are self-supporting, meaning you are living without the physical or financial support of a parent or guardian. Fourth, your parent or guardian has consented to you living on your own.
That last condition sounds like a dead end. It is not. The law says consent can be expressed or implied, and implied consent includes a parent barring the minor from the home or otherwise indicating that the minor is not welcome to stay. If you were told to get out, that may already count. The statute also lets a letter stand in as proof: one signed by the director of an agency that serves homeless people, a school’s homeless liaison, a school social worker or counselor, or a lawyer representing the minor.
So a 16 year old does not have to win an argument with a parent at 1 a.m. to get help started, and the school counselor you already know can be part of the answer. This is not legal advice, and every situation is different, but it is the law on the books. Missouri’s juvenile code still calls anyone under eighteen a child, so a shelter may have to bring in family or the Children’s Division. Ask how that works before you decide anything.
Which St. Louis youth shelters take a young person tonight?
Call first if you can, both to confirm a bed and so someone is watching the door for you. These three keep a door or a crisis line open around the clock.
Covenant House Missouri
Covenant House says it plainly: for individuals age 16-24, call us, drop in, or use the emergency resources. Beyond the bed, its residential services include individual and group therapy, on-site psychiatry appointments, a health clinic, education and employment support, and case management. Two full-time therapists work on-site, and career staff run job-skills classes every day on campus.
Covenant House Missouri
Address: 2727 N Kingshighway Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63113
Bed availability: (314) 351-4866
Other information: 314-533-2241
Ages: 16-24
Hours: open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Website: covenanthousemo.org
Youth In Need Emergency Shelter
Youth In Need’s Emergency Shelter is a 12-bed emergency residential group home for youth ages 10 to 19 who are in crisis. It is voluntary and free. Intakes happen through the 24-Hour Help Line or on a walk-in basis at the shelter, and staff start with the young person’s immediate needs before explaining the program. The top of its website carries one line: if you are in a housing crisis, call 636-946-3771.
Youth In Need Emergency Shelter
24-Hour Help Line: 636-946-3771 (collect calls accepted)
Central office: 1815 Boone’s Lick Road, St. Charles, MO 63301, 636-946-5600
Ages: 10-19
Cost: free
Website: youthinneed.org
Annie Malone Children & Family Services
Annie Malone, which first opened its doors in 1888 as the St. Louis Colored Orphan’s Home, runs a 24-hour Crisis Center offering emergency shelter, food, clothing, emergency medical attention and counseling referrals. Its crisis work has long centered on children, so call first and ask whether they can take a teen tonight.
Annie Malone Children & Family Services
Address: 2612 Annie Malone Dr, St. Louis, MO 63113
Main phone: 314-531-0120
Crisis line: 844-803-7233
Website: anniemalone.org
Eighteen or older and none of these fit? Our guide to emergency homeless shelters in St. Louis covers adult options across the metro tonight.
What if home is the thing that isn’t safe?
If a young person is being hurt at home, or is scared they will be, Missouri’s Children’s Division runs a toll-free hotline that answers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Anyone can call: the teen, a grandparent, a neighbor who heard it through the wall. You can stay anonymous. The state’s own page puts it bluntly: if you have the thought “Maybe I should call,” do it. Not every call turns into an abuse case, and the Division can often bring in services that help a family in crisis.
Missouri Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline
Phone: 1-800-392-3738 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week)
Immediate danger: call 911
Already 18, or the one who just got the call from a cousin who is? Adult beds run on different rules - here is where a grown-up in St. Louis can sleep tonight.
Where can a teen get food, a shower and clean clothes during the day?
Not everyone needs a bed at 2 p.m. Some need a hot plate of food, a shower that runs warm, and a dryer to sit next to. The Epworth Drop-In Center is a safe space for youth ages 11 through 20, with a recreation room, computer lab, full-service kitchen, laundry, shower and a clothes and food pantry. Hot meals are prepared daily. Check the hours below before you go: it closes at 5 p.m., so line up a bed for the night too.
Epworth Drop-In Center
Address: 7520 Natural Bridge Road, Normandy, MO 63121
Phone: 314-918-3470 (Director of Older Youth Services)
Ages: 11-20
Hours: Monday through Thursday 12:00-5:00 PM, Friday 1:00-5:00 PM (call to confirm)
Website: epworth.org
Epworth’s street outreach team also brings goods and resources to young people who won’t or can’t come in. For more places to warm up and wash up in business hours, see our guide to daytime drop-in and day centers in St. Louis.
Is there help for a teen being trafficked or exploited?
The National Human Trafficking Hotline is confidential and answers 24/7 at 1-888-373-7888, or text 233733. For a bed tonight, pair that call with Covenant House at (314) 351-4866.
Two local organizations do the longer work once the first night is behind you. The Covering House serves sexually exploited and trafficked children and teens through a residential home, community-based services and prevention training, and its new residential home has space for up to ten girls. Referrals go through its website. If you copied 314-962-6450 for The Covering House from an older version of this page, cross it out: the number on The Covering House’s own site is (314) 962-3450.
The Covering House (referrals through its website)
Phone: (314) 962-3450
Mail: P.O. Box 431, Arnold, MO 63010
Website: thecoveringhouse.org
Marygrove (therapeutic services for youth)
Address: 2705 Mullanphy Lane, Florissant, MO 63031
Phone: 314-830-6201
Website: marygrovechildren.org
Which hotlines answer for runaways and worried parents?
When you don’t know where to start, a hotline is the fastest first move. The National Runaway Safeline is free, confidential and available 24/7. Call 1-800-786-2929, or text that same number. Its staff can work toward locating an open bed in a shelter in your area, and if home is the problem, they can help you sort out when an abuse report has to be made.
Ready to go back, or to a relative who will take you? The Safeline’s Home Free program gives young people ages 12 to 21 a free Greyhound bus ticket to a parent, a legal guardian or an approved alternative living arrangement. It starts with a phone call and a plan, not a lecture.
For a mental-health or suicide crisis, call or text 988. In St. Louis, the city’s health department lists Behavioral Health Response’s 24/7 Crisis Line, where you can talk with a clinician free of charge at 314-469-6644, and its Youth Connection Helpline at 314-819-8802, or text BHEARD to 31658. Kids Under Twenty One (KUTO) runs a crisis helpline staffed by trained youth volunteers at 1-888-644-5886; its site says it opens every day after 4 p.m.
Parents, this part is for you. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children tells families to immediately call local law enforcement when a child is missing, and to ask that the child’s name go into the FBI’s National Crime Information Center Missing Person File. Then call the center at 1-800-843-5678. Call the Runaway Safeline too. It is there for caregivers as well as youth, and once your teen reaches out, it can set up a conference call so everyone on the line feels heard. For counseling once things settle, see our guide to teen mental health and crisis help in St. Louis.
Write two numbers on your hand or the back of a receipt tonight: (314) 351-4866 and 636-946-3771. Phones die. Ink doesn’t.
| ★ | Help us keep this help coming. We work hard to pull this together and keep it in one place - but we’re only as current as the community that helps us. If one of these organizations helped you, tell them we’d love to list them so more neighbors can find them. Help us share the help that’s available here - share this now on Facebook and other social media. If you run a local service or nonprofit like these, add it free on St Louis Near Me Directory - that’s how we keep this list fresh, accurate, and in front of the people who need it most. |
Frequently asked questions
Can a 16 year old go to a homeless shelter?
Yes. Covenant House Missouri serves ages 16 to 24 and takes drop-ins around the clock; call (314) 351-4866 for bed availability. Youth In Need’s shelter serves ages 10 to 19 through its 24-Hour Help Line, 636-946-3771. Under section 431.056, a 16- or 17-year-old who is homeless and self-supporting may contract for admission to a homeless shelter if a parent has consented, and that consent can be implied.
Can a 17 year old leave home without parental consent in Missouri?
Missouri treats a 17-year-old as a child under its juvenile code, so leaving home is not the same as being on your own legally. Section 431.056 does let a homeless, self-supporting 16- or 17-year-old contract for housing and shelter, but only when a parent has consented, and consent can be implied, for example when a parent bars the minor from the home. Call the Runaway Safeline at 1-800-786-2929 to talk it through.
Is a 17-year-old considered a minor in Missouri?
Yes. Missouri’s juvenile code defines a child as any person under eighteen years of age, and the legal age to contract in Missouri is eighteen. The narrow exception for homeless 16- and 17-year-olds in section 431.056 covers things like housing, shelter admission and medical care, not adulthood in general.
Can my mom call the cops if I leave at 17?
Yes. At 17 you are still a child under Missouri’s juvenile code, which covers any person under eighteen, and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children tells parents to immediately call local law enforcement when a child is missing. If home is not safe, say so: call the Missouri child abuse hotline at 1-800-392-3738 or the Runaway Safeline at 1-800-786-2929, which can also set up a conference call with your parent.
Where do I go if I have nowhere to stay?
If you are 16 to 24, go to Covenant House Missouri at 2727 N Kingshighway Blvd, open 24 hours a day, and call (314) 351-4866 for bed availability. Ages 10 to 19 can call Youth In Need at 636-946-3771. No plan at all? Walk into a QuikTrip or Walgreens with the Safe Place sign, or step onto a Metro bus or train, and tell an employee you need Safe Place help.
Where can I find emergency housing in St. Louis?
For young people, Covenant House Missouri runs the Genesis Shelter Program, a 20-bed emergency shelter where youth can stay up to 30 days, first-come, first-served. Youth In Need runs a 12-bed emergency shelter for ages 10 to 19. Annie Malone’s 24-hour Crisis Center answers at 844-803-7233. Adults can start with our emergency homeless shelters guide.
Where can I send my troubled child for free in Missouri?
Youth In Need’s Emergency Shelter is voluntary and free to participants, for ages 10 to 19 in crisis, with counseling and case management; call 636-946-3771. Safe Place is free for any child or teen who needs help. For counseling referrals and emergency help, Annie Malone’s Crisis Center is at 844-803-7233.
What happens if a child becomes homeless?
In the St. Louis area, the first trained adult they reach can start the help. At a Safe Place site, staff call a designated help line and a case worker is sent to assess the situation and, if necessary, take the young person to a shelter. If abuse or neglect is involved, the Missouri hotline at 1-800-392-3738 answers 24 hours a day, and the Children’s Division can step in with services.
Can a runaway get a free bus ticket home?
Often, yes. The National Runaway Safeline’s Home Free program gives youth ages 12 to 21 a free Greyhound bus ticket to a parent, legal guardian or approved alternative living arrangement. It starts with a call to 1-800-786-2929 and a conference call with family to plan the trip.
Written by a dedicated team of St. Louis locals who live, work, and play right here in the St. Louis metro. Founder Lane Forman and team are committed to building the region’s most trusted directory by verifying listings and connecting local businesses with loyal customers across Missouri and Illinois.