Help KC's Homeless
Hope Faith Ministries
Hope Faith Ministries (705 Virginia Ave., KCMO) is a KCMO-based organization just east of downtown that provides daytime services to homeless residents, as well as overnight housing during winter’s coldest months. The 48,000-square-foot Homeless Assistance Campus offers meals, showers, optical exams, haircuts and laundry. Hope Faith volunteers last year served just over 104,000 meals to 4,619 guests. From Dec. 1 to Feb. 28, the facility is open from 6 pm to 6 am as an overnight shelter. Hope Faith, a non-denominational Christian ministry founded in 2004, is seeking cash contributions and volunteer caregivers to assist in the facility, and it has an Amazon.com wish list. Find more information at hopefaith.org or call 816-471-4673.
The Beehive
The Beehive Health & Housing Collaborative (750 The Paseo, KCMO) helps the underserved with several vital social services, such as medical and dental care, behavioral health, housing support, identity documents and more. The organization partners with the onsite NourishKC Community Kitchen and Care Beyond the Boulevard—the latter offers comprehensive medical care for the homeless. Beehive is looking for donations as well as volunteers. Positions can range “from helping out with our front desk to one of our many ongoing initiatives,” according to the Beehive’s website. Donations go toward “expanding housing and employment opportunities, advocating for equitable policies around housing, law enforcement and education,” per the website. Find out more information at beehivekc.us
Shelter KC
With “Hope for All Who Enter Here” printed on its door, Shelter KC is a faith-based rescue mission sheltering homeless men and women. Its men’s facility (1520 Cherry St., KCMO) offers solutions for short-term homelessness, as well as recovery programs. Also near downtown, Shelter KC operates a 20-bed location specifically for single women. Women can work with a case manager and acquire job skills through life coaching and work therapy, as well as receive substance abuse treatment. Founded in 1950, the mission also offers educational and life-skills classes in combination with job-placement programs through partnerships with several local businesses. Shelter KC seeks holiday volunteers as well as donations of gift cards, planners, alarm clocks and cash. Find out more information at shelterkc.org or call 816-421-7643.
The Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center
The Salvation Army helps residents in need across the metro area with several services, but many might not know that the organization bills itself as the largest provider of no-cost drug-recovery programs. About 150,000 adults are cared for annually by Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Centers in the Midwest, including a location near downtown KCMO. The organization does this through “180-day residential work-therapy programs providing spiritual, social and emotional assistance to people who have lost the ability to cope with their problems and provide for themselves.” Salvation Army thrift store sales go toward the rehab centers’ operations. To learn how to volunteer or to donate goods or money, visit satruck.org or call 800-728-7825.
Morning Glory Ministries
Morning Glory Ministries offers free breakfast every morning at its facility attached to the gold-topped Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (416 W 12th St., KCMO) downtown. In addition to the morning meals, the ministry gives the homeless emergency assistance Tuesday through Friday mornings, offering clothing, hygiene and pantry items, help with documentation and more. Morning Glory also provides free lunches Saturdays and Sundays. The organization seeks volunteers to help in the cafe and with emergency assistance volunteering. Donations are accepted to fund a variety of Morning Glory projects, from the kitchen to capital improvements. For more information, visit morningglorykc.org or call 816-842-0416.
Bishop Sullivan Center
Bishop Sullivan Center provides services to financially challenged KCMO residents. A faith-based concern, the organization has three pillars: food, jobs and aid. The organization runs One City Café (3936 Troost Ave., KCMO), which serves 8,000 meals a month at its Midtown outpost. Households receive assistance from two city pantries, one in Midtown and another in the Northeast. Bishop Sullivan helps unemployed residents learn the skills to find a job and also provides assistance with clothing and medical care. Its Project ElderCool provides free air conditioning units to elderly residents or those who have ailments exasperated by the heat. Bishop Sullivan is looking for donations, including sponsorship of a night at One City Café. Volunteers are needed in several areas at the center. For more information, visit bishopsullivan.org or call 816-231-0984.
Family Promise of the Northland
Family Promise of the Northland offers a day center north of the Missouri River that gives housing-challenged guests free access to laundry facilities, private showers and restrooms, as well as free Wi-Fi and other amenities. Family Promise picks up residents in need via van at pickup points in the city and brings them to its facility by appointment. The program is part of a national network of more than 200 independent affiliates across the country, linked by the Interfaith Hospitality Network. Family Promise works with several Northland churches to provide guests additional support. To donate, visit familypromisenorthland.org or call 816-888-7070.
Neighbor2Neighbor
Neighbor2Neighbor, temporarily located in St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church (2910 Victor St., KCMO) on the East Side, serves free lunch and breakfast from Monday to Friday. While looking for a permanent location following a fire in 2023, the organization continues to offer drug-treatment, detox and housing referrals as well as a “safe place to relax and be out of the elements.” N2N also has a seasonal clothing closet that gives away hygiene products. The organization, estimated to serve about 80 people a day, is looking for volunteers in meal donation and preparation as well as help in N2N’s clothing store. Go to n2n4kc.com or call 816-606-4509 for more information.
True Light Family Resource Center
True Light Family Resource Center in Midtown KCMO highlights its Emancipation Station, which provides a safe place for homeless women to shelter, as well as several in-house programs. In addition to the emancipation space, which is open weekdays from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm and offers laundry and showers, True Light operates a transitional home. The organization also provides free breakfast on Saturday mornings at Metropolitan Lutheran Ministry (722 Reynolds Ave., KCK). True Light seeks volunteers for its breakfast program and donations for its sack lunch and elderly food distribution programs. For more information, go to truelightfrc.org or call 816-381-9310.
Westport Presbyterian Church/ Westport Showers
Westport Presbyterian Church’s Westport Showers program offers several different programs for unhoused people six days a week. Showers, laundered clothing, hot breakfasts and other resources are available on Sunday mornings. There are Thursday night showers for women and trans and gender-nonconforming visitors. The church (201 Westport Road, KCMO) also provides sack lunches on weekdays. Westport Showers needs volunteers for food prep, cleaning, laundry and other tasks. The organization, which started at the suggestion of postal workers across the street who saw a need in the neighborhood, seeks cash donations as well as food and particular types of clothing. For more information, visit westportshowers.org or call 816-931-1032.
KC CARE Health Center
KC CARE Health Center is a Midtown KCMO facility that provides primary medical care and other health services to unhoused and underinsured residents. Founded just over 50 years ago, KC CARE services include LGBT+ care, women’s health, testing, screening, dental care and more. The group recently completed a capital campaign funding renovation to the campus, allowing for a 30 percent increase in patient capacity by the work’s December 2025 completion. In August, KC CARE launched a program that focuses on medical care delivery to local immigrants and refugees. Several volunteer opportunities requiring various job skills are available in the organization. For more information or to make a donation, go to kccare.org or call 816-753-5144.
Journey to New Life
Journey to New Life provides opportunities to those reentering society from incarceration. Part of the nonprofit’s mission is to accept people as they are, “providing first stop services, residences, case management and employment assistance in a safe and supportive environment.” Journey to New Life operates two resident homes with a combined 36 beds, where individuals might stay for several months during their transition, during which they have a case manager and employment training. The organization is looking for volunteers in several areas, including office help, movers, intake specialists and other positions. Besides cash, Journey to New Life encourages donations of new men’s and women’s underwear; jeans, workwear and work shoes; kitchen utensils; and more. Visit journeytonewlife.org or call 816-960-4808 for more information.
U.S. Veteran Affairs Homeless Veteran Care
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provides area resources that aim to tackle veteran homelessness. Local program coordinators help provide immediate food and shelter, job training, support with societal reentry from jail, addiction treatment and other services are provided by the VA. Mobile food pantries make weekly visits to both the Kansas City VA Medical Center on KCMO’s East Side, as well as the outpatient Honor VA Clinic. For information about numerous volunteering opportunities or to donate to the VA’s homelessness programs, go to volunteer.va.gov or call 800-698-2411. Online donors can direct funds toward specific facilities and programs.
Benilde Hall
Benilde Hall helps men facing homelessness due to substance abuse and mental health challenges by offering them housing and treatment resources. The facility (3220 E. 23rd St., KCMO) opened in 1993 and can house up to 110 men, with 53 beds designated for homeless veterans. The location is one of 24 Safe Haven programs in the United States that provides a “low-stress, low-demand environment” for homeless vets. A registered nurse is on staff at Benilde Hall, where residents can receive on-site psychological services, financial and independent living skills, as well as a work program. Benilde Hall accepts men’s clothing, bedding and other items. To donate and for more information, go to benildehall.org or call 816-842-5836.
Synergy Services
Synergy Services helps youth, teens and families around the metro area who are victims of domestic violence. The nonprofit, with a staff of 110, operates a 24/7 crisis phone line, emergency shelter, mental health treatment and transitional housing. Additionally, Synergy’s website guides patients through an initial intake to make sure they are being sent to the right caregiving location. Its facilities include a domestic violence center and different facilities for children and youth. More than 1,500 volunteers have passed through Synergy, and there are a multitude of volunteer opportunities. To learn more about volunteering or giving to the organization, visit synergyservices.org or call 816-587-4100.
The Micah Ministry
Associated with the Independence Boulevard Christian Church, the Micah Ministry (2910 Victor St., KCMO) is an outreach mission geared toward “unhoused and food-insecure people in the historic Northeast area” of KCMO. The program offers hot meals from 5:30 pm to 7 pm every Monday, along with hygiene products, clothing and access to a free medical clinic. Micah Ministry seeks volunteers, clothing donations, meal sponsorships and other goods. Blankets, tents and sleeping bags are in-demand items. Find out more information at ibcckc.org/themicahministry or call 816-231-0016.