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