The Hillcrest Transitional Housing program is the most successful program of its kind in Kansas City, and has been nationally recognized for Best Practices by the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Executive Director Scott Cooper was awarded the 2004 Stuart Whitney Award for Advocacy from the Homeless Services Coalition of Kansas City. Hillcrest is proud of a 34-year record of success.
We aren’t just moving an adult to self-sufficiency, but an entire family, thus breaking the cycle of poverty for generations of families.
Hillcrest is extremely EFFICIENT and EFFECTIVE; utilizing over 500 volunteers a year to renovate aged apartment buildings and provide professional services (doctors, dentists, car mechanics, tow truck drivers, printers, etc). Hillcrest keeps operating costs down by stretching every donated dollar into ten dollars of services and boasts a rate of success unmatched by other transitional programs!
Families in the program are being led to self-sufficiency -- they are moving into housing of their own choosing, are no longer receiving welfare dollars, and are maintaining full time employment. The families are held tightly accountable through a weekly evaluation system and are subject to an “all needs/no wants” approach to budgeting. In other words, they are not spending money on fast food, sodas, or luxuries.
The Kansas City Homeless Hotline reports that 53% of the homeless population in Kansas City is a child at an average age of 9 years old; the average age in the state of Missouri is 7 years old. This is evident at Hillcrest in that 75% of our families are singles mothers with an average of 2-3 children per household.