KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As temperatures drop, the need for shelters increases.
A report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found Kansas City has the highest percentage of people experiencing chronic homelessness who live unsheltered.
Robert Singleton knows firsthand what it’s like to be homeless. After falling on hard times, he said he lost his kids and hope.
“I was homeless,” Singleton said. “I slept in a truck. I was stinking. I was lost because I didn’t have my kids.”
His experience brought him to Neighbor2Neighbor, a KC agency that provides food, clothing and resources to those experiencing homelessness.
“I didn’t have nowhere to go. Reverend Parr, he saved my life," Singleton said. "I’m 41 years old. Never been to a penitentiary, never been to a jail, don’t got a felony, I got all my rights. I’m not a bad person, I just made some bad choices. But I learned from my bad choices, and I’m trying to better myself and my life.”
Greg Parr is the executive director at Neighbor2Neighbor.
In the early 90s, he battled addiction and homelessness. But for the past 30 years, it has been his mission to help others.
“We find out why the person is homeless, and we help them in that way,” Parr said. “We place them in recovery housing so they can learn how to stay sober and how to handle permanent housing.”
In his experience, most homeless individuals are either battling substance abuse or mental illness, which he said is not always addressed when people are put "in hotels for three months ... that's not solving the problem."
Kansas City Houseless Prevention Coordinator John Henges said his organization is actively working with city leaders to address such issues.
“This winter, we’re going to have up to 400 beds, depending on the temperature,” Henges said. “Our goal is to have 100 beds throughout the year while Hope Faith is constructing their low-barrier shelter. And the goal is we’re not going to be the city that has the lowest-performing homeless services system.”
Those changes would benefit people like Knikkia Jefferson, a mother of three working to get back on her feet.
“I thought fentanyl would never hit this drug,” said Jefferson, who has overdosed on PCP four times. “... I had a seizure off of it. I died once in front of my children and my mother."
She said she hopes efforts to shelter more individuals will help others like her get back on track.
“I do everything for my children,” Jefferson said. “And I have to show them that I can be there for them because they look up to me.”
Winter shelters will open from Dec. 1 to March 1.
To donate to Neighbor2Neighbor, click here.
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