A program at one local school district is making an impact on the number of homeless families in south KC

By Kevin Jean-Paul

“I slept in my truck. That was my home,” said Courtney, a military veteran and single mom displaced during COVID-19 due to domestic violence. 

“I felt like there was no hope. I was losing my faith. We were homeless in an Extended Stay,” said Faith, a wife, elderly care specialist and mother of three. 

“When my landlord sold his home, my kids and I shacked up with mom and sister in her three-bedroom apartment. Rent was too high,” stated Jasmine, a local parent of four. 

As a new school year commences with all its excitement and angst, the children of Courtney, Faith and Jasmine walk the same hallways as other registered students, yet they often struggle in silence due to negative stereotypes surrounding people experiencing homelessness.

In South KC the school districts of Center, Grandview, Hickman Mills and Raytown estimate a total of more than 1,000 students are experiencing homelessness. A local organization is partnering with Center schools to address this problem. 

“We are the bridge families cross to a life of self-sufficiency,” says Stephanie Boydston, executive director of Impact Center School. The organization focuses on three key areas: affirming families’ self-dignity through a strength-based perspective, developing a renewed mindset through habit formation, and providing resources to remove generational barriers. 

Resources include the first month’s rent and deposit, eviction repayment assistance, free counseling sessions and home furnishings via Flourish Furniture Bank and All in One Movers. Every first and third Wednesday of the month ICS collaborates with Colonial Presbyterian Church and hosts Impact Day. Impact Day is a one-stop shop for the community to receive desperately needed resources and a family focus on self-development via their workshops. 

“I had no idea something like this existed. To have someone to answer my phone calls in a time of need is a blessing,” said Lashawana, a local parent. 

Most importantly, a licensed social worker partners with the head of household and students on their journey to self-sufficiency. According to the Center School District in 2023 the Impact organization was one of the main catalysts in reducing student homelessness by 38%. About 68% of ICS families are no longer on government assistance, and 88% remain housed after a year. ICS graduated five families from its program in 2023, and in September 2024, ICS will graduate 13 stable and thriving families. 

“We currently do not go wide, but we go deep with our families,” said Boydston. 

Each public school district collects data on the homeless through the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act which mandates that homeless students have the right to an education. The number of homeless families fluctuates, but according to the Zero KC 2020 assessment, there are over 3,000 students experiencing homelessness in the Kansas City region.

 Kevin Jean-Paul is the Impact Director at Serve The World Charities.