The Veterans Community Project (VCP) is on a mission to eliminate Veteran homelessness by providing transitional-housing and enabling access to exceptional 360-degree service solutions. Focusing first on the Greater-Kansas City area, VCP aspires to use Kansas City as the blueprint for achieving similar successes in cities across the United States. VCP has a long-term goal of eliminating Veteran homelessness nationwide.
Through contributions and partnerships, they are creating Veterans Village — a community of transitional tiny-homes and onsite services to provide housing stability and address the underlying cause of the Veteran’s homelessness. This combination of housing stability and onsite services will lead to more successful permanent housing outcomes.
In contrast to traditional homeless services, a tiny-home provides the Veteran with privacy, a sense of security, and the ability to reintegrate at a comfortable pace. Veteran services are facilitated through an onsite community center that provides the Veterans with mentoring, case management, counseling, and linkage to other programs and services.
Check out their website for more information and to find out how you can volunteer through assisting at their Outreach Center or with Construction of Homes! And check out this CNN article too!
Happy Volunteering!
Amethyst Place provides safe and supportive housing to women recovering from addiction, which means providing housing to their children as well. They serve 50-60 families and over 100 children each year. A family who is accepted into the program receives 24 hour supervision, collaboration with community based case managers, as well as on-site therapy in a supervised drug-free environment. Each resident develops her own individualized treatment plan in conjunction with a treatment team made up of case managers, DSS workers, and therapists and must work, go to school or attend drug treatment at least 20 hours per week.
It is finally nice out! If you’re like me and you’re looking for any excuse to enjoy this beautiful spring weather, look no further than Bridging the Gap. Bridging The Gap works to make the Kansas City region sustainable by “connecting environment, economy and community,” and is the premier organization in the area providing environmental education and volunteer action through more than 1,500 volunteers annually. Here are some of their upcoming events:
Uplift is a homeless outreach program in Kansas City with the following mission: “We who acknowledge God’s providence and fidelity to his people, especially those in poverty, do dedicate our efforts toward the support of those who are homeless. Our goal is to deliver those basic human needs, care and compassion that are not usually received from other organizations.”
DID YOU KNOW?
Cross-Lines is an agency in Kansas City that provides people in the area affected by poverty with services and opportunities that encourage self-confidence, meet the needs of today, and provide the tools for future self-sufficiency. Their 
And of course, they always need volunteers. With so many different programs come many different opportunities for service. Whether you’re looking to help administratively or with programs like the community kitchen, the supplemental food program, the community garden, the thrift store, or helping with grounds upkeep or computer lab classes, there’s something for everybody!