The president of the Athens, Ohio-based National Business Incubation Association, Dinah Adkins, said it's the only business incubator in the country she knows of that's focused primarily on the homeless.

The St. Patrick Center in downtown St. Louis is the largest provider of homeless services in Missouri and has been helping those in need for a quarter century.

Like many homeless agencies, it put much of its focus on emergency assistance. That work continues - last fiscal year the St. Patrick Center served more than 150,000 meals to the hungry - but it hopes the new programs will get at some of the root causes of homelessness, said Dan Buck, the center's chief executive officer.

The St. Patrick Center transformed its fourth and fifth floors into space to launch new businesses and help the homeless learn skills in demand by area employers. It's a $5 million investment using funds from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Catholic Charities of St. Louis and the center's assets.

“When we talk about homelessness, I always say it takes more than shelters and soup kitchens,” said Jan DeYoung, director of the new Project Begin incubator and trades training programs. “It's a new beginning for us, a whole new model for addressing homelessness issues.”

The center isn't taking people off the streets and turning them into overnight entrepreneurs. Rather, the approach is to help people find stable housing and address health issues, and then, once approved by a caseworker, train them in new job skills, DeYoung said. Once they start a job, they continue to meet with work counselors and have access to social support services, if needed.

The small business incubator space offers small, professionally outfitted offices for low rent. But more than that, the businesses that are accepted into the incubator will be assessed to determine their areas of strength and weakness, receive guidance through a mentoring program, be able to share administrative services and learn from other entrepreneurs.

Other businesses will be considered affiliates, meaning they're not fully in the incubator program but use the center's business address, facilities and services.

In turn, the businesses or their vendors work to employ some St. Patrick Center clients. The homeless center is also opening a furniture construction and restoration program onsite.

Adkins expected a small business incubator focused on employing the homeless might face unique challenges - because it would be working with individuals that might have mental health issues or other obstacles. But, she said, careful screening should help to make sure those who participate are ready.

DeYoung said several culinary businesses are already working through the incubator, like an area pastry maker and a barbecue sauce business. He said businesses in construction trades, landscaping, health care, hospitality and security are expected to be good fits.