OLATHE, Kan. — A concert Thursday, May 4, 2023 will raise money and awareness for KidsTLC.
The Olathe, Kansas-based agency provides behavioral and mental health services to children and their families in Kansas. It offers residential and outpatient care.
At any given time, about 68 children live at the facility as they work through traumas, cognitive disabilities, substance abuse, depression, anxiety and more. KidsTLC partners with the Olathe School District to provide schooling on site.
Kenzie lived at KidsTLC for about six months as a 12-year-old. She has autism spectrum disorder and her mother said Kenzie would act out at school and would hurt herself and others.
“I was screaming for help,” Dena Hillman described her life before finding KidsTLC.
Since returning to her hometown of Greenleaf, Kansas, Kenzie’s behaviors have improved. Hillman reports Kenzie is doing better in school, isn’t triggered by the things which triggered her in the past and she recently won several medals at a Special Olympics event.
“I can’t thank these people enough because they changed our world forever,” Hillman said.
The Kansas Medicaid program helps clients pay for the residential programs at KidsTLC. Leaders at KidsTLC raise money to pay for staffing and programs which go beyond the state’s minimum requirements.
The concert Thursday will help raise money to cover those costs. The band JAM [Jackson and Mars], which is a Michael Jackson and Bruno Mars impersonation band, will headline the concert. It takes place at Guitars and Cadillacs at 7312 West 119th St. in Overland Park, Kansas, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tickets begin at $75 and are still available for purchase online.
“Being able to see a child who is in need and receive the services they need to live a more full and happy life is phenomenal,” said Kritsin Kadel, who helped organize the benefit concert with her husband Dennis.
