logo
Service leaders on KC homelessness: ‘We can and will find a better way'

Service leaders on KC homelessness: ‘We can and will find a better way'

Yahoo23-05-2025

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In 2023, about 96% of people experiencing chronic homelessness in Kansas City were unsheltered – the worst rate of any major US city.
That number comes from the 2023 HUD report, its 2024 report shows only state data. In Missouri, there was a 9% increase in people experiencing homelessness from 2023 to 2024.
In Kansas City, there are residents experiencing the issue firsthand, and others who are working to resolve it. Alleyways off Independence Avenue is in an area that's become notorious for homeless encampments.
Black bear recently seen in Kansas City area appears to be injured, MDC says
The urban street ambassadors spend their days on Independence Ave. with the Community Improvement District. They're contracted by the city to clean more than a dozen alleyways in the corridor.
'I am coming out here to let everyone know if you need resources, Healing House will be down here to talk to you guys, but we got to clean out the alley,' Laura Birdsong, the team resource manager, said to some people living in the alley.
One of the people she was talking to, she was surprised to see.
'The last time we cleaned up that alleyway, we actually helped him get his belongings to an apartment he thought he was going to be getting,' she said.
'Something fell through for him.'
That's just one person's story on the avenue.
'There's got to be a commitment on all sides,' said Josh Henges, the Prevention Coordinator for the city.
'What's happening in the Northeast is a combination of a lot of things. You've got a high level of substance use. You've got a lot of human trafficking, and that makes it very difficult who are experiencing homelessness to get off the street, who are entangled in that.'
Henges believes that to solve homelessness, intervention is needed to help address crime and other physical and mental health issues. Plus, the creation of more affordable housing.
'You've got to have folks working boots on the ground with this population, and you have to have a place for them to go,' he said.
KC2026: Charter busses will take you to World Cup matches
At Restart, one of KC's largest homeless service providers, CEO Stephanie Boyer says people are connected with a case manager. Even when some get into safer housing, hundreds more are waiting.
'We have a need for 26 thousand units for people in a low-income category,' she said.
'We've seen families renting storage units and living in them, renting U-Haul trucks, literally living and sleeping in the back of it, because it's cheaper to rent either of those options for a week than it is a hotel or to be able to try and find housing.'
While day shelters and free meals provide temporary relief, it's not producing long term solutions.
'It's going to take the political will, and it's going to have to be a public-private partnership in order to get to where we need to be, or what you're seeing on the streets here will only continue to get worse,' said Boyer.
Birdsong said that people are will to help, and that sometimes the help is received. Like the man from earlier, who was able to sleep somewhere safe that night.
'My promise to everybody is just that we can and we will find a better way, you just have to be willing, and until that time we are going to have an understanding of how we are going to coexist out here,' she said.
Search underway in south central Kansas for missing Overland Park woman
She also says that sometimes people might not see the need right away, or may have other barriers stopping them from accessing resources.
No matter the reason, compassion never hurts.
Henges said it was a goal this year to have year-round sheltered beds. In the past, they've only had beds during winter. However, as of May 1, 125 beds were made available, all of which were immediately filled.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Fan taken to hospital after falling from stand during Belgium-Wales soccer match
Fan taken to hospital after falling from stand during Belgium-Wales soccer match

San Francisco Chronicle​

time3 hours ago

  • San Francisco Chronicle​

Fan taken to hospital after falling from stand during Belgium-Wales soccer match

BRUSSELS (AP) — A soccer fan who fell from the upper tier of King Baudouin Stadium during a World Cup qualifier between Belgium and Wales was taken to the hospital for checks on his injuries. The Football Association of Wales said the unnamed man 'was conscious and speaking' after the incident, which reportedly took place during the second half of Monday's game in Brussels. The man 'fell from the upper to lower tier,' the FAW said in a statement after the match, which Belgium won 4-3. The incident came a day after a fan died after falling from an overhead level onto the media section at the Munich stadium during the Nations League final between Spain and Portugal. ___

Safety concerns close local shooting range to public use
Safety concerns close local shooting range to public use

Yahoo

time12 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Safety concerns close local shooting range to public use

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The Missouri Department of Conservation announces the indefinite closure of shooting ranges at Pigeon Hill Conservation Area to the public. The rest of Pigeon Hill will remain open to the public, according to a press release on the MDC website. A MDC investigation found 'evidence of range misuse at Pigeon Hill CA that put public safety at risk.' 'Unfortunately, the actions of unsafe, irresponsible shooting range users created a situation that we could not allow to persist,' said Justin McGuire, MDC's Hunter Education and Shooting Range Coordinator, in the press release. The shooting ranges located in St. Joseph are some of the unstaffed ones across Missouri. Conservation area goers are encouraged to report unsafe or unlawful activity to the Operation Game Thief at (800) 392-1111 or contact a local agent. To find agents by county, visit

Trump's new travel ban: Which countries are on the list? Who's exempt? How are people reacting?
Trump's new travel ban: Which countries are on the list? Who's exempt? How are people reacting?

Yahoo

time21 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Trump's new travel ban: Which countries are on the list? Who's exempt? How are people reacting?

President Trump's sweeping new travel ban went into effect on Monday, barring citizens of 12 countries from visiting the United States and imposing restrictions on those from seven others. In a video message last week announcing the ban, Trump cited national security concerns, claiming that foreigners who were not properly vetted posed a terror risk. "We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen those who seek to enter the United States,' Trump said. The president also cited the recent attack in Boulder, Colo., by a man who allegedly shouted 'Free Palestine' and threw Molotov cocktails into a crowd of people calling for the release of Israeli hostages being held by Hamas. 'The recent terror attack in Boulder, Colo., has underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted, as well as those who come here as temporary visitors and overstay their visas,' Trump said. 'We don't want them.' The suspect, identified as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was arrested and charged with a hate crime. According to the Department of Homeland Security, Soliman is from Egypt and had overstayed a tourist visa. Egypt is not among the countries included in Trump's new travel ban. The ban, which went into effect Monday at 12:01 a.m. ET, prohibits foreign nationals from the following countries from entering the U.S.: Afghanistan Chad Republic of Congo Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Haiti Iran Libya Myanmar (Burma) Somalia Sudan Yemen It imposes partial restrictions on foreign nationals from the following countries: Burundi Cuba Laos Sierra Leone Togo Turkmenistan Venezuela There are numerous groups of people who are exempt from Trump's new travel ban. They include: Any lawful permanent resident of the United States. Dual citizens, or U.S. citizens who also have citizenship of one of the banned countries. Athletes and their coaches traveling to the U.S. for the World Cup, Olympics or other major sporting events determined by the U.S. secretary of state. Afghan Special Immigrant Visa holders who worked for the U.S. government or its allies during the war in Afghanistan. Children adopted by U.S. citizens. Diplomats and foreign government officials or representatives of international organizations and NATO on official visits. Foreign national employees of the U.S. government who have served abroad for at least 15 years, their spouses and children. Individuals with U.S. family members who apply for visas in connection to their spouses, children or parents. Iranians belonging to an ethnic or religious minority who are fleeing prosecution. Refugees who were granted asylum or admitted to the U.S. before the ban. Those traveling to the United Nations headquarters in New York solely on official business. The announcement angered humanitarian groups working to resettle refugees. 'President Trump's new travel ban is discriminatory, racist, and downright cruel,' Amnesty International USA said in a statement posted to X. 'By targeting people based on their nationality, this ban only spreads disinformation and hate.' "This policy is not about national security,' Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America, said in a statement. 'It is about sowing division and vilifying communities that are seeking safety and opportunity in the United States." 'To include Afghanistan — a nation whose people stood alongside American service members for 20 years — is a moral disgrace,' Shawn VanDiver, president and board chairman of #AfghanEvac, said in a statement. 'It spits in the face of our allies, our veterans, and every value we claim to uphold.' The African Union Commission released a statement expressing concern about 'the potential negative impact' of the ban on educational exchange, commerce and engagement and the 'broader diplomatic relations that have been carefully nurtured over decades.' The commission said it 'respectfully calls upon the U.S. Administration to consider adopting a more consultative approach and to engage in constructive dialogue with the countries concerned.' The new travel ban is similar to the one Trump imposed in January 2017, his first month in office. That ban restricted travel to the U.S. by citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries — Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. (Syria and Iraq are not included on the new list.) It went into effect via an executive order with virtually no notice, causing chaos at airports nationwide and prompting numerous legal challenges. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a version of it in 2018. Stephen Vladeck, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center, told the New York Times that the new ban is more likely to withstand legal scrutiny. 'They seem to have learned some lessons from the three different rounds of litigation we went through during the first Trump administration,' Vladeck said. 'But a lot will depend upon how it's actually enforced.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store