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Building a community where all people can stand on their own with dignity

Transitional Housing Programs for Families in Kansas City

Journeying together toward brighter futures

Fear. Despair. Isolation. Shame. That is what experiencing homelessness can feel like - worrying there's no way up, no way out, and no one who cares. And far too many people in the KC Northland experience it.

We're here to change that.

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A legacy of hope

In the early 1970s, everything seemed to be going well for Ben and Patsy Beltzer. Ben managed a business, and the couple was active in their community. But when Ben lost his job, the Beltzers experienced first-hand the hopelessness that can come from being unemployed and lacking secure housing.

Desperate, the Beltzers reached out to their church community. The church surrounded them to provide support, with the loving expectation that the family find work, adapt to live within their means, and allow themselves to be held accountable in their finances. Through the help of their church community, the Beltzers were given another chance and regained stability for their family.

The Beltzers' experience sparked a desire to start an organization to offer a long-term solution to the growing number of families facing homelessness in their community. And so, Hillcrest Ministries (which would eventually become Hillcrest Hope) was born, welcoming the first three families into the original Hillcrest home in 1978.

The vision that drives us

Over 40 years later, our vision is the same as the one the Beltzers started out with: a community where all people can stand on their own with dignity and provide for their families. Our staff and volunteers are focused on helping unhoused people in our community who want to do the hard work of creating a future of security and independence to believe in and invest in themselves. We do that by strengthening, equipping, and loving them in practical ways.

Here's what that looks like in practice:

  • A safe physical environment so our residents can have a place to call home while they begin to rebuild their lives.
  • Strengths-based, trauma-informed case management that meets them where they are.
  • Life skills classes to fill important gaps and equip themselves in practical ways.
  • A high-accountability plan for paying off debt and saving money, allowing them to become self-reliant for the long haul.
  • Trusting relationships and a community of care and support.

We know our unhoused neighbors have the power to create a better future for themselves. And it's been our joy to partner with a community full of amazing volunteers and donors to make that possible - working together, journeying alongside people in need, and taking joy in watching them rise.

The beliefs that drive us

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Our Mission

Empowering individuals and families experiencing homelessness to achieve personal independence through transitional housing, accountability, education, and community support.

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Our Vision

A community where all people have the basic necessities of life, including food, clothing, and housing, and where all people can stand on their own with dignity and provide for their families.

How our program works

Create Stability

So many people experiencing homelessness feel they're alone. Here, they learn they don't have to be. We provide rent- and utility-free apartments for nearly a year to give unhoused people a safe, reliable place to call home, and we surround them with a supportive community, providing them with a solid foundation of support that makes it possible to grow.

Provide Tools

Building a better life includes learning how to live one. Residents learn real-world skills and participate in high-accountability financial literacy education that will help them in the future. And our commitment doesn't end when they leave our program - we offer continued support for up to three years.

Restore Hope

Here, hope is more than wishful thinking. It's action filled with grit and determination. It's what's born through hard work toward an achievable goal that was once thought impossible. We plant the seed of hope in our residents, water and nurture it, and help it grow so they can see a brighter future they can create for themselves.

Access to All

All qualified applicants to our program will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin or veteran status.

Our Programs

Our programs are built to help participants grow toward the future they want. Whether that's independence, restoration, a home of their own, or something else, we walk alongside and help them to see it's possible, equipping them with skills along the way that will help them in their new beginning.

Transitional Living
Graduate Support
Eviction Prevention
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Transitional Living

Meaningful change begins by meeting the basic human need for a safe physical environment. We provide rent- and utility-free apartments for nearly a year so unhoused people can have a place to call home while they begin to rebuild their lives.

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Hope opportunities

Graduate Support

The Hillcrest Hope Opportunities program encourages graduates to participate in community engagement, self-improvement, and other positive activities both for themselves and their children with incentives that continue to provide support and stability.

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Hope essentials

Eviction Prevention

We have a solution to keeping you in your home. Apply today for 6 months of financial support with resource-building, budgeting, and guidance to regain stability.

Be a part of the mission

When you donate to Hillcrest Hope, you say to a neighbor experiencing homelessness: "I see you. And you're not alone." Join our mission today by supporting hope for those who need and deserve it.

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