Central High School junior creates nonprofit to help St. Joseph’s homeless community

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- Central High School junior, Ava Dixon, juggles school, sports and extracurricular activities, but she's also making time to give back to her community in a meaningful way.

Motivated by a desire to help others, Dixon recently launched a new nonprofit organization called Rock On St. Joe, focused on supporting members of St. Joseph’s homeless community with essential items and encouragement.

According to a 2025 Point In Time Count held on Jan. 23, 2025, asking people where they stayed the night of Jan. 22, 2025, the Continuum of Care counted a total of 218 homeless persons in St. Joseph.

The Continuum of Care is a local planning body, consisting of social services organizations dedicated to reducing and ending homelessness through coordinated housing services.

Through Rock On St. Joe, Dixon aims to help St. Joseph's homeless community in providing daily necessities, ranging from toiletries, water, snacks, food and more.

"I just have really been thinking about something I could do for the community," said Dixon. "Over the summer, whenever we'd have, like, extra food at work, I would take it out to the homeless...I thought it would be really cool if we could make something bigger."

Dixon said her goal is to give some love and said necessities out at least twice a month. She also hopes to set up a pop-up to handout warm meals once a month.

To bring her vision to life, Dixon is inviting fellow St. Joseph residents to get involved.

Dixon has set up a Facebook page to share more information about the organization regarding updates, donation shoutouts and more.

"We have had a lot of good responses. I've had people reach out....I have a whole bunch of people looking at the Amazon wishlist that is on the Facebook page," said Dixon.

Dixon hopes to begin distributing supplies around the second week of April, with most efforts focused in Downtown St. Joseph while also reaching other areas of the city as needed.

"That's where most of the homeless population is around here," said Dixon. "I plan on having a pop-up stand down here (Downtown) most of the time, but also may be going up towards the South end."

Anyone interested in donating or getting involved can contact Dixon through the Rock On St. Joseph Facebook page or by emailing avadixon491@gmail.com. Donations can also be made through the organization's Amazon wishlist.