The Programs Offered by our Foundation
Weekly Vittle Van: Our volunteers take food out to the homeless in the streets on a weekly basis. Other organizations in Kansas City, on a mostly regular basis, are taking out food on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. The Hope in the Streets Vittle Van covers Thursday nights each week. We stop at 10 - 25 locations around the Kansas City downtown loop, under bridges, along the river and where ever else we know that we can find homeless in need of a meal. Hot food is provided in the cold winter months, and sandwiches are the main course in the spring, summer, and fall. This program reaches 80 to 100 individuals each week. We usually have with us a supply of blankets, hats, gloves, socks, hygiene kits, and other essential items needed by those living on the streets.

Home Essentials Fresh Start Kits: Currrently there is a U.S. government grant that provides housing vouchers to homeless individuals in the Kansas City area, moving 4 - 8 individuals into apartments each month. Unfortunately that program doesn't have the resources to provide any of the basic living essentials a person needs to get started after they are handed the keys. Hope In The Streets has stepped in and provides a large tub of home essentials to these individuals to get them off to a good start in their new environment. Items in the Fresh Start Kit include: Bed Sheets, Plates, Bowls, Cups, Silverware, Cooking Pans, Kitchen Utensils, Towels, Laundry Soap, Shower Curtain, Pillow, Blanket, Bathroom Hygiene Items, Non-Perishable Food Items, etc. Our Fresh Start Program provides the necessary foundation for individuals to start living on their own and to become more self-sufficient early on in the transition away from homelessness.

Food Pantry: Related to the Fresh Start program, we maintain a food pantry that is used to provide basic food items to individuals who are getting into housing after being on the streets. We accept canned food and non-perishable items as donations, and we also use donated funds to buy specific items that we know will be needed.

Winter Warmth Kits: Each winter the foundation will buy supplies to assist the homeless in staying warm and help them get through the cold winter months. The kits will include a sleeping bag, hat, gloves, socks, canned food, hygiene goods, a bible, and other items to be determined each year. Through this program, Hope In The Streets provides Warmth Kits to approximately 30 to 50 individuals each winter.

Small Blessings: As we deliver meals each week, we see individuals with small but important personal needs that they otherwise have a difficult time meeting. Examples include shoes or boots, t-shirts or sweatshirts, bug spray, baseball caps, batteries for lanterns/flashlights, a walking cane, reading glasses, gloves, jackets, and so on. We can identify important needs such as these, purchase them, and bring these essentials out the next time we see them for the weekly meal run. We don't advertise this service, and we don't simply ask "anything I can get you this week?" Instead, we carefully observe those we are serving, listen to their stories, and consider what those persons might be going through. If we can identify a need, we'll ask them if they would be open to us filling that need, and if so, we try to make it happen. The program is personal and selective, and the recipients have always been over-the-top thankful for the small blessings they receive.

Road to Success: Qualified and pre-screened homeless individuals can be recommended for this program, which provides transition housing and basic living support for up to 3 months per person. We have partnered with Hillcrest Ministries to deliver this service. Hope in the Streets sponsors a 2 bedroom apartment with Hillcrest, and Hillcrest provides the counseling support and oversight of individuals going through their highly successful program.

Medical Referral: Through our relationship with Swope Health Services, our volunteers can refer homeless individuals to local clinics staffed by medical professionals. The services and benefits available through Swope Health include general medicine, chronic disease treatment, mental health treatment, as well as drug and alcohol rehabilitation. These services are free or at a very low cost for qualified homeless individuals.

The programs listed below are part of our long term vision, but not yet available ...

Holiday Meals: Associates of the foundation, and other people in the community who volunteer, will be matched up with homeless individuals to share a nice meal together. The meal could be prepared and taken to the homeless person's camp, or the volunteers can treat the homeless person to a restaurant meal in town. We will concentrate these meal experiences around major holidays, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Job Network: Our foundation will provide the screening of potential employers as well as the screening of homeless individuals. After we have built up a long track record working with a homeless individual, we can vouch for that person and work with potential employers to give the candidate a fresh chance with appropriately matched employment opportunities.

Family Reunion: With persistence and a little bit of background information, associates are able to perform detective work to help find the families of homeless individuals. The foundation would be able to make contact and potentially facilitate reuniting of the homeless individual and members of their family.