Telling the Stories of Our Community

Humans of St. Louis  (HOSTL) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that shares first-person stories and photographic portraits, featuring people and places throughout St. Louis.

HOSTL gives over 130,000 social media followers an intimate look into the lives and struggles of the people of St. Louis, one photo and story at a time. It is the second most popular “Humans of” site after New York.  

Stories highlight areas of economic growth, philanthropy, and small businesses. They also address race, racial equity, gender equality, community, family, youth, aging, health, disease, education, discrimination, homelessness, poverty, cultural awareness, and more. The project is intentionally grounded in social work, public health, and documentary photography.

Many of the stories they tell are of people served by MMF collaborative partner organizations, such as St. Louis City Senior Fund, MICA Project, Missouri Foundation for Health, Forward through Ferguson, as well as others.  Click on "Collaborations" in the top menu to see some of the featured stories.