St. Louis Volunteer Ministers Promote Prevention to Bring New Cases of COVID-19 Under Control

Within a week of Missouri reopening for business, coronavirus cases rose by nearly 11 percent. “If we want to reboot our economy, we need to practice prevention,” say the Volunteer Ministers of the Church of Scientology St. Louis.

New cases of COVID-19 in St. Louis have spiked since the city began relaxing restrictions. St. Louis Public Radio reports they have increased by 80 percent. “Now is not the time to relax,” says a Scientologist taking part in a campaign to bring prevention materials to the people of St. Louis. “Just by applying the simple principles outlined in the How to Keep Yourself & Others Well booklet we can change this. What you do can affect so many people.”

The volunteers handed out copies of “Stay Well” booklets to shops, businesses and residences. “The owner of one salon was super appreciative,” said a volunteer. She wanted to make sure she had enough copies of the booklets for each of her clients.” 

“By handling these out, I’m doing the right thing,” said the manager of a laundromat.

At one apartment complex, a woman expressed concern about her neighbors. “They aren’t even doing the bare minimum of what they need to do,” she said. She realized she could make a positive change by handing out copies of the booklet door-to-door in her neighborhood.

“We’ve never experienced something like this in our lifetime,” said one of the Volunteer Ministers. “We can turn this around but that takes all of us as a community. Things like wearing a mask and social distancing can prevent the spread of the virus. Mayor Krewson announced yesterday that starting July 3, everyone has to wear a mask. If you don’t understand why, it can feel like someone is imposing something on you. That’s one reason I feel these booklets are so important.”

Each booklet has a QR code on the back that goes to the How to Stay Well Prevention Center on the Scientology website, which makes these and other prevention materials available, free of charge. The booklets can be read on the website or downloaded. More than a dozen brief videos illustrate the key information, making it easy to understand what a virus is, how it spreads, and the actions anyone can take to protect themselves and their families.

Distribution of these booklets began in May in communities around Scientology Churches and Missions across the globe. The Church of Scientology International Dissemination and Distribution Center made this possible by printing and shipping out 5 million copies of Stay Well booklets.

The Church of Scientology Volunteer Ministers program is a religious social service created in the mid-1970s by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard. It constitutes one of the largest and most visible international independent relief forces. The Volunteer Minister’s mandate is to be “a person who helps his fellow man on a volunteer basis by restoring purpose, truth and spiritual values to the lives of others.”