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ST. LOUIS — A sidewalk rally began Thursday with an activist celebrating “power to the peopleâ€� and ended in chants calling to close down Dismas House, a halfway house for federal prisoners in ºüÀêÊÓƵ.

About 30 people staged the half-hour gathering outside the Cote Brilliante Avenue building to protest what they contend are abysmal conditions at Dismas House. A 32-year-old male resident was shot in the shoulder during an argument at the facility Nov. 2. Police say another 33-year-old resident was arrested but not yet charged in the shooting.

The nonprofit , which has capacity for 129 men and 32 women, has a $43 million contract with the federal Bureau of Prisons to transition federal inmates from prison to their homes. Protesters on Thursday urged with Dismas House that is set to expire next year.

“This facility is a breeding ground for disaster and it makes mockery of the term rehabilitation,â€� said Ronnie Amiyn, 46, of ºüÀêÊÓƵ, a member of the activist group EX-incarcerated People Organizing-MO that put on the rally. “So how can you expect somebody to make a successful transition into the community, where all of the ills that plagued them, that led them into the system, (are) still with them when they exit the system?â€�

Anthony Arrington, Dismas House's chief operations officer, said the organization is one "of charitable intent. Our goals have always been centered around helping our clients return to the community from incarceration and achieve their fullest potential. Our dedicated staff aim to assist all of the people involved in the program and even assist those who resist."

One of the protesters also blasted Dismas for paying its leaders six-figure salaries for years, saying its leaders have been “profiting off the bodies of our communities.�

As demonstrators chanted outside, a few Dismas House residents stood watching through second-story windows, recording with cellphones and pasting homemade signs to the glass. One sign read “FREEDOM.� Another said “HELP US.�

Tim “Big Mo� Gordon-Bey, 50, spoke at the rally, saying he stayed at Dismas for about seven months in 2018 after serving prison time for tax evasion and money laundering. While at Dismas, he said, he routinely witnessed drug overdoses and also recalled having to use showers infested with mold. He said the facility also limited access to computers needed to apply for jobs. Those examples, he said, show that Dismas residents rarely get the resources needed to reintegrate into their communities.

“I’ve seen men passed out in the showers for hours with no help, overdosing on drugs. The administration knew about it. They didn’t care. They did not care at all,� he said. “I want to say that my heart is filled with love just to see you out here today, because a lot of these guys feel like they don’t have hope.�

Frederick Rikkathon James, 60, of East ºüÀêÊÓƵ, said he spent 15 years in prison for drug crimes and lived at Dismas for several months in 2018. His only praise for Dismas was for the food, saying its biggest problem is lax security that fails to stop abuse, guns and drugs on-site.

“Anything illicit that you wanted, you could get here easily,� he said. “And luckily I didn’t want any part of that because I was on the road to getting my life back after being away for so long. But I could have easily gotten anything I wanted. That’s not conducive to a person getting their life back together when the things you’re trying to get away from is right in your face.�