Your old medical supplies aren't trash, St. Louis
Look—we’ve all got stuff piled up in the basement or shoved in a closet, right? That old CPAP machine, a wheelchair that got used for a few months and then just… sat there. We tell ourselves we’ll get around to donating it, or selling it, or figuring out what to do with it. But a lot of times, it just ends up in the trash. But a woman in St. Louis, Janet Weisberg Haber, saw all that waste and decided she was gonna do something about it. She’s started a non-profit right here in town, operating out of a 10x10 room, collecting all this expensive, perfectly good medical equipment that families are just tossing out.
### Giving Back to the Lou
I'm gonna be real with you, this is the kind of story that just screams "St. Louis." We’re a city that looks out for each other, even when things are tough. You see the heart of the Hill neighborhood, or the way folks gather at Ted Drewes on Chippewa on a summer night, and you know there’s a stubborn kindness here. What Janet is doing, collecting things like walkers, crutches, even specialized feeding pumps and unopened boxes of supplies, and then getting them to folks who desperately need them but can't afford them, that's just pure St. Louis. It’s like when we rallied for the Blues in 2019 – last place in January, Stanley Cup in June. We just don't quit.
* **What This Means for St. Louis:** * **Less Waste:** Reduces the amount of usable medical equipment ending up in landfills. * **Community Support:** Provides vital, expensive equipment to low-income families and individuals who can't afford new. * **Empathy in Action:** Highlights the persistent spirit of giving and problem-solving that defines our city.
This isn't just about saving money or stopping waste; it's about making sure our neighbors, whether they’re in Tower Grove South or over by Forest Park, have access to what they need. It’s about recognizing that there’s a need, and then just getting to work. That's the Lou — we're still here and we're not leaving.
My man Keith and the crew get into stories like this every morning – you gotta catch 'em live at mornings.live.