For over 10 years QTS has partnered with Shelter KC, a faith-based rescue mission serving homeless men and women in downtown Kansas City. Shelter KC staff and leadership contributed to this spotlight.
1. Tell us about the mission and vision of your organization.
Shelter KC is helping Kansas City’s homeless men and women experience freedom from the past and hope for the future. We believe the love of Jesus Christ changes lives. We see it happen here every day.
Established in 1950, it’s been our mission to serve people in need. Whether they turn to us because of bad choices, bad breaks — or both — we welcome those who are poor, homeless, hungry and hurting into our doors.
At Shelter KC, our clients eat great food and find safe shelter, comfortable beds and clean facilities. It’s our priority to treat each man and woman with dignity. Added services include case management, a recovery program, job and life skills training through educational services and the opportunity to take part in our social enterprise program.
2. What inspired the creation of your nonprofit organization, and how has it evolved since then?
Jarrette Aycock, superintendent of the Kansas City District Church of the Nazarene, founded the Mission in 1950, then named the Kansas City Rescue Mission (KCRM), and located it in the River Market Area of Kansas City. He was a man who knew the heartache and shame of alcoholism and homelessness. After many years of drinking and drifting, Aycock’s life was transformed when he accepted Christ as his Savior at Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles. “As I sat in chapel looking at the derelicts, drunks, and dope addicts around me, I got to thinking that I had been like them before and would be like them again if I didn’t get free of the old habits and ceaseless downward pull that had plagued my life for years,” he later wrote.
In 1991, KCRM moved to its current Cherry St. location. The new space allowed us to expand programming, and include a long-term alcohol and drug recovery program, now titled Christian Community of Recovery (CCOR). In 2013, we opened our Women’s Center as a response to a study done by the city, which found that single, homeless women were the most vulnerable and least housed. Our Women’s Center is a live-in facility, which focuses on trauma and addiction recovery.
In 2019, as the organization approached its 70th anniversary, KCRM’s name was changed to Shelter KC. Since then, we began our Transformations Campaign, which is focused on renovating and expanding our Men’s Center. We have completed Phase One, which renovated our current space, and added two new program areas – The Renew Mental Health Center and Respite Rooms. The Renew Mental Health Center, is a smaller, quiet area where men with mental health needs can get stabilized, meet with a counselor, and once stable move into one of our programs or a program outside of our facility. The Respite Rooms are available for men coming out of the hospital to rest and rehabilitate from minor surgery, broken limbs, etc. They can then move into one of our other programs or outside our facility once they are healed.
3. How does your organization collaborate with the local community to achieve its goals?
We are a completely privately funded nonprofit, which means our community partnerships are key to our success. We have different events where organizations can volunteer, donate, and fundraise to support us. We also have daily volunteering opportunities and donation needs. We also love to share what we do with other organizations by attending work events, church events, etc. where we can share how we help those in need throughout the Kansas City area.
4. What are some ongoing challenges your organization faces, and how do you address them?
Currently, inflation is causing prices of everything to go up as we all know. This affects Shelter KC as well, because we still provide the same services year-round, but it is more expensive now to provide some of the basic needs to those we serve. We know this affects our donor base too, so we continue to contact new donors and organizations to help collaborate and support our mission.
We are also seeing an increase in mental health needs from the guests that we serve. This means we must adapt to best support these individuals. One of our core values is Dignity of the Individual, which means that we think about how person has physical, mental, spiritual, and social strengths and weaknesses. By working with each person individually, we can best support their needs.
5. As a proud partner, QTS is always excited to support your mission with our time, talent, and treasure. Can you describe any upcoming events or programs where community members can get involved in or support your organization’s work?
In the summer, we provide heat relief items to those on the streets and who come into our shelter. These items include cases of water, sunscreen, granola bars, ChapStick, wet wipes, and deodorant. Your organization can hold a drive to collect some of these items or donate financially to Shelter KC, so we can buy and provide needed supplies, meals, and shelter during the summer months and beyond.
We always need volunteers to serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner at our Men’s and Women’s Centers. This is a fantastic way to get introduced to Shelter KC and learn more about partnering with us in other ways.
As we head into the Fall, we ramp up a lot of our events for the Holiday season, so check out our website shelterkc.org around then to see about volunteering or donating items then as well.
6. Could you share some recent success stories or impactful projects/initiatives your organization has undertaken?
With the opening of our Renew Mental Health Center and Respite Rooms, we have been making connections and helping men who maybe never wanted to come into a shelter before. They have stayed with us while rehabilitating, and have realized that we are there to support, love, and help them through their journey. A couple of men have gone from these programs into our Shelter Launch program, which works with men to complete whatever they need to get out of homelessness. For some, they must find a job and apply for housing. For others this means paying off debt, saving money, etc.
We have also had a couple of men find housing outside of our shelter after getting stabilized on their medication, and one man has chosen to join our recovery program.
We strive to create healthy relationships that allow transformational growth in the men and women we work with, and these two latest programs are showing the fruits of that labor.
7. What does the future look like for your organization?
We will continue our Transformations Campaign with Phase 2 starting soon. This phase will add a new building in our parking lot. This 3-story building will include a new Welcome Center, Chapel, and the 2nd and 3rd floors will be dedicated to our Christian Community of Recovery program. There will also be a courtyard with plants and seating to provide some greenery and fresh air in the heart of the city.
We hope to continue to think creatively for helping men and women who are struggling with homelessness, trauma, and addiction in the years to come.
If you would like to join QTS in supporting ShelterKC, visit shelterkc.org.
Locations: Men’s Center – 1520 Cherry St., Kansas City, MO 64108
Women’s Center – 2611 E. 11th St. Kansas City, MO 64127
