Shelter KC: A Kansas City Rescue Mission

Shelter KC provides more than 90,000 meals and 43,000 shelter nights to homeless men, yearly. The shelter is considered one of the safest shelters in Kansas City. Our goal is to treat all individuals with dignity, while offering short-term emergency shelter and long-term recovery programs.

Shelter KC offers homeless men two weeks of emergency shelter. After that time, they are encouraged to join the Shelter Launch Program. This program connects shelter guests with a life coach and the resources they need to obtain independent housing: financial, legal and spiritual direction; healthcare, career and addiction recovery support; and housing resources.

Our Christian Community of Recovery Program is for men with drug and/or alcohol addictions. Today, many men have completed the program and are clean, sober, reunited with families and employed in a career.

Through our Women's Center's Sisters of Recovery Program homeless women (many victims of sexual assault and trafficking) with mental issues and addictions are able to overcome obstacles that prevent them from living lives characterized by independence and fulfillment.

Shelter KC's goal is to help homeless men and women acquire the means to be happy, healthy contributors to this community .

Shelter KC provides more than 90,000 meals and 43,000 shelter nights to homeless men, yearly. The shelter is considered one of the safest shelters in Kansas City. Our promise is to treat all individuals with dignity. Led by licensed counselors and case workers, Shelter KC offers men short-term emergency shelter and long-term recovery programs.

Our innovative Steps Toward Success program is for men who are homeless but working full-time jobs and need help saving money and securing stable housing. The program lasts from 30-90 days, while the men meet with case management and begin saving money for rent and utility deposits. The program allows the men to work first, second, or third shifts.

Our long-term recovery program is for men with drug and/or alcohol addictions. Today, many men have completed the program and are clean, sober and employed in a career.

In 2009 and 2010, Shelter KC conducted surveys involving 27 local social service agencies to confirm the critical gap in services for single, homeless women in Kansas City. The studies also revealed that most suffered with co-occurring disorders, such as addiction and mental illness.

In response, Shelter KC’s Women’s Center opened in 2013. The 20-bed residential facility is designed for single, homeless women working to overcome barriers to stability and success. Today, the Women’s Center is leading women through the premium trauma program in Kansas City and watching transformation occur daily.

Educational services are an integral part of every man and woman’s recovery plan at Shelter KC. Our staff provides individualized support that promotes accountability and growth. Clients are assisted in obtaining their high school diplomas through the Shelter KC Academy. We assist our residents by helping them enroll in college, trade and/or technical schools. We work with several professional partners who help our clients achieve their professional goals.

Shelter KC (formerly named Kansas City Rescue Mission) has been serving the homeless in Kansas City for 72 years. Jarrette Aycock, a former alcoholic who received life-changing help through a Los Angeles rescue mission, founded the Mission in 1950. Shelter KC has since grown from a mission outpost to an organization with comprehensive programs offering immediate relief and long-term assistance to homeless men seeking recovery and re-entry into the community. Today, Shelter KC provides 62 overnight beds for homeless men, 40 residential beds for men in addiction recovery, and 20 residential beds and comprehensive services for single homeless women with co-occurring disorders like addiction and mental illness.

Since 1950, Shelter KC (formerly Kansas City Rescue Mission) has provided hope for all who have entered its doors. Continuing to serve since the CoVid-19 pandemic this year has presented many challenges, but also paved the way for re-evaluating and improving established norms. New Executive Director Eric Burger has lead the Mission in undergoing multiple re-alignments that are foundational to its sustainability and ability to help men and women who are homeless find victory over substance abuse, poverty and other challenges that left them unable to find their way to independence and fulfillment.