Humans of St. Louis Book (HOSTL Book)

JON BLANCO's values are Be Curious, Be Kind, Build Community.

Be Curious: Ask questions, listen and learn. Be Kind: This is the golden rule. We must treat others with the dignity, love and respect they deserve. Let’s build bridges, not walls. Build Community: If we do the first two values well, this should come easy. In fact, we believe building community is the byproduct of the first two values.

We are proud to partner with Humans of St. Louis (HOSTL) to offer the HOSTL Book! 

About the Book: 

“Don’t talk to strangers.” Those words are ingrained in us. But we chose to talk to strangers, despite the hurdles of approaching others, because we believe personal stories have the power to connect people and inspire compassion.

We’ve been listening to and sharing personal stories of the people of St. Louis since we launched the project in 2014. We’ve tackled important issues, created a platform for dialogue and discussion, and celebrated humanity.

As St. Louis’s story continues to be written, we wanted to take a snapshot of the past handful of years the way we always have — one photo and story at a time. Typically, the Humans of St. Louis (HOSTL) posts only get a day of playtime on the page. But the stories are still relevant, timely, and enjoyed by so many. So we made a book!

We decided to self-publish. We kept it local from the stories to the creative team. And we built something truly beautiful and unique of, by, and for St. Louis. -HOSTL Team

About Humans of St. Louis: 

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 in the U.S. after Humans of New York.

Stories highlight areas of economic growth, philanthropy, and small businesses. They also address race, racial equity, gender equality, LGBTQ rights, 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.

Humans of St. Louis Website