Catholic Charities to move headquarters to Hickman Mills area

By Kathy Feist

Construction is underway for the future headquarters for Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph. By the end of October, a staff of around 60 employees will move from their current location at 4001 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd to the former St. Matthews Apostle Catholic Church at 8001 Longview Rd. The church currently serves as one of the organization’s Serve & Lift Center  which provides a food pantry and various services. Those services will continue on a much larger scale when the remodel is complete.

The Serve & Lift Center opened a year ago following the closure of St. Matthew’s in November 2020 after 56 years as a parish.

“When we opened last year, maybe we had 80 clients a month,” says food pantry director  Janine Urness. “Now we are now up to 300. That’s a huge increase.” The center initially opened one day a week. It is currently open four days a week.

Food Pantry Director Janine Urness talks with Fred Darbonne in the entryway of the Service & Lift Center in Hickman Mills.

Urness says clients come from as far as Cass County, Independence, Blue Springs, Grandview, and Gardner, MO. The nonprofit serves 27 counties with two additional Serve & Lift Center in St. Joseph and Cameron.

For those in Kansas City, RideKC has added a bus stop at the location. And for those off the path, a call to KC Bus will get them there.

Catholic Charities owns the property which will reduce overhead costs from their current location.  “This is a needy area and so a great location for us,” adds Philanthropy Manager Fred Darbonne.

When finished, the facility will house a large reception/intake area, food pantry, warehouse, kitchen demonstration area, classrooms, staff offices, chapel and even a break area for South Patrol. Darbonne provided a hard hat tour for Telegraph readers.

Intake Center – The main doors to the center will move from the north end to the south where a large waiting area with cushioned seating and electronic screens on the wall greet visitors. Here visitors wait for the intake process, where they are assessed for any further services.  In addition to a food pantry, Catholic Charities provides case managers and/or classroom help for employment and job skills, pregnancy and parenting, social and emotional learning, adoption and financial planning. “We are lifting people up and giving them hope and giving them what they need to let themselves out of poverty,” says Darbonne.

Food Pantry – The new food pantry will move from the west side of the building to the east, with a target opening date of May 15. The larger food pantry will provide a “shopping” experience for the client. Volunteers will assist each shopper on selection of products based on family size and health factors.

Food Storage – A large warehouse on the east side of the building will house four loading docks for semi truck distribution from such organizations as Harvesters, Whole Foods, Trader Joes and Nourish KC. A forklift, aisles of storage shelves and large walk-in coolers and freezers round out the impressive set up.

Demonstration Kitchen – A demonstration kitchen will help teach clients how to prepare food with what equipment they have available, whether microwave or stove. It will also serve to create ready-made meals that they can take home.

Children & Family Services – Family Rooms will provide private space for case managers to meet with families, whether that be for housing services, support services for veterans families or the many other programs provided by Catholic Charities. A tech room will avail families to Zoom access with case managers offsite.

 Chapel – A beautiful chapel incorporating the church’s original altar will open daily to the public at 3 pm for prayer time.

 Offices – Around 60 staff members will move to the new location on October 15. Some staff will remain at the Martin Luther King Jr Blvd space until the lease expires in 2025, at which time the organizers will determine whether to provide services in two parts of the city or one. The decision will be budgetary, according to Executive Director Susan Walker. Offices will be at both the east and west side of the building.

Break Room – This room serves as a check-in space for volunteers. But it will also become a break room that the South Patrol division can access as a private restaurant “so they don’t have to go to a 7/11.”

The build out of the lobby/waiting area on the south end of the former church.

A design of the waiting area in the lobby.