Chronically Unhoused: As Kansas City ranks worst in the nation for chronic homelessness local nonprofit organizations, including the annual Hope Faith shelter, create change

Kansas City is ranked worst in the nation for chronic homelessness, according to the Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR).

Hope Faith, a nonprofit organization in Northeast Kansas City, will open an emergency shelter, a temporary residence in the cold, on Dec. 1. Executive Director of Hope Faith, Doug Langner, hopes to keep the shelter open permanently.

“The cold weather [shelter] was a great start for a few years to literally save lives,” Langner said. “If it’s okay to be sleeping somewhere Feb. 28, we need to have a place where people can do that as well on March 1, June 1 or any day of the year.”

Kansas City is ranked worst in the nation for chronic homelessness, according to the Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR).

Nonprofit organizations, including Hope Faith, across the Kansas City area are working towards ending chronic homelessness.

According to AHAR, Kansas City currently has over 2,500 individuals experiencing homelessness. Out of this group, 280 are chronically homeless and 95.7% of them are currently unsheltered — the highest rate in the nation.

These high numbers in Kansas City are caused by the lack of emergency shelters in the area, according to Langner. Homeless individuals struggle to find a shelter to stay in the area, and as a result, become chronically homeless.

Junior Grace O’Donnell has volunteered with Kids4Vets, a nonprofit organization started by junior Libby Marsh that helps homeless veterans and educates children on homelessness. For 10 years the organization has provided toiletries to homeless individuals. 

“Just having these basic needs really helps them, even if they don’t have a shelter or a home,” O’Donnell said.

Although the lack of shelters has consistently been a problem for the homeless, it’s increasingly prevalent as numbers of chronically homeless people rise.

Since 2007, chronic homelessness has increased by 19% nationwide, according to AHAR. Morning Glory Ministries has seen this increase in chronically homeless individuals through their Tuesday through Sunday meals. A year ago, Morning Glory Ministries was serving 130 individuals per day. Now they serve 200.

John Kraus, executive director of Morning Glory Ministries, attributes the growth in the homeless population and those who are remaining on the street to the increasingly difficult housing economic situation combined with low wages.

“If [homeless people] are at a paid job, their wages are not growing at the same rate as their rent is growing,” Kraus said. “Even though there are jobs available, the jobs that are available to people who don’t have a strong education or don’t have connections are not the kind of jobs that are going to be able to afford the average rent in Kansas City.”

While both Morning Glory Ministries and Uplift, another nonprofit organization, don’t provide housing for homeless individuals, they do give meals and resources such as toiletries, clothing and blankets directly to the homeless. Ross Dessert, president of Uplift, says his organization helps alleviate the stress of the homeless, even if they can’t provide a permanent solution.

Uplift fosters relationships between homeless people and volunteers, according to Dessert.

Dessert urges Kansas City residents, especially from Johnson County, to get involved in their community and volunteer with organizations such as Uplift.

“A primary focus of mine is getting people like us from Johnson County to engage with our homeless neighbors,” Dessert said. “Everybody wants to care about this, but they don’t have a way to do that. And so that’s what [Uplift] does, is we provide a way for students to show compassion and empathy.”

Junior Catherine Beltrame has volunteered at Uplift in the past and believes the organization actively creates change in the Kansas City area.

“I feel accomplished when I volunteer with Uplift,” Beltrame said. “I feel like I’m giving back and it’s worthwhile. They always have something for you to do, like going out and seeing the people and the impact that it makes firsthand. I’m starting to solve this problem.”

Langner, Kraus and Dessert urge students to volunteer this winter to raise awareness over the rising number of the chronically homeless.

“We have a whole movement going on here,” Dessert said. “Let’s expand it. Let’s do more. Let’s try to build on that and influence more people from the cul de sacs. It’s happening.”