reStart Inc - Supportive Services

Clients in reStart programs are served by three staff therapists, two substance abuse counselors, a full-time COMBAT counselor/educator, a Housing and Employment Specialist, a Health Educator, a Health Benefits Advocate, and case managers who assist them in developing individualized strengths-based goal plans. As an active member of the Homeless Services Coalition of Greater Kansas City and the Kansas City Continuum of Care, reStart also works hand-in-hand with private and governmentto ensure that families have access to all the services that they need and for which they are eligible, as well as to avoid unnecessary duplication of services:

Employment Assistance: reStart partners with the Full Employment Council (FEC), Helping Hand of Goodwill, the Women’s Employment Network, Bishop Sullivan Center, the Turnaround Center (Catholic Charities), and Beyond the Conviction to place clients in permanent positions that pay above minimum wage.

Job Skills, Life Skills, and Financial Literacy Classes: In partnership with United Services Community Action Agency (USCAA) and Urban Financial Services Coalition Kansas City, reStart provides job search and placement workshops, life skills classes, and monthly budgeting classes.

Substance Abuse Counseling: In addition to reStart’s twosubstance abuse counselors and the COMBAT educator who works with the children and youth in all our programs, reStart offers weekly AA, NA, and Addiction Recovery Today groups on site.

Mental Health Services: In addition to services provided by our three full-time staff therapists, reStart works with the Truman Behavioral Network, Rediscover, Swope Health Services, Samuel Rodgers, and others and to provide mental health screenings, assessments, therapy, and referrals.

Health Screenings, and Health, Dental, and Vision Care: Through our Healthy Choices and Healthy Starts programs, reStart partners with numerous agencies and health care providers to provide health education workshops, primary and preventative care, nutritional education, fitness/wellness programs, and health benefits advocacy. Partners include Lincoln University Extension, the Kansas City Free Health Clinic, Truman Medical Center, Swope Health Services, Research Medical Center, Cabot Westside Health Center, the KCMO Health Department, Good SamaritanProject, Save Inc., Gregg Klice Community Center, Dr. Yoder, O.D. and the One Sight Foundation, Social Security Administration, Missouri Department of Social Services, Medicare and Medicaid, Healthcare USA, Molinea Health Net, Healthy Start, Innate Family Chiropractic, Mid-America Immunization Coalition/Safe Kids Metro KC, Health Start Outreach, American Lung Association, University of Missouri Kansas City Dental School, Nova Nordisk, Kansas City Impact Center (Lincoln University), and the American Red Cross.

Food: Harvesters’ food bank provides the majority of food for reStart’s shelters and four of our sites are Harvesters’ programs. Harvester’s Project Strength is offered on-site to teach homeless  individuals and families to prepare nutritionally-balanced meals with limited resources, and Beans and Greens partners with reStart to help clients learn to incorporate fresh, locally-grown produce into meals and snacks.

Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Prevention and Assistance: The Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault (MOCSA) regularly provides information about sexual assault and services to women in our programs, and Hope House provides domestic violence support.

School Districts: reStart works with homeless services coordinators in all local school districts to enroll students and to get referrals for the Family Emergency Shelter and the Youth Emergency Shelter.

Homeless Prevention and Rapid-Rehousing Program (HPRP): reStart provides HPRP services in partnership with Don Bosco Center and Guadalupe Centers. reStart’s program alone served 121 individuals in 2011, including 71 families with 24 children.

Children’s Programming: reStart works actively with the Kansas City Missouri School District to ensure that all children and youth in the family and youth emergency and transitional shelters are enrolled in school and have access to a tutor. Volunteers from Rockhurst University provide Homework Help twice a week during the school year. The HALO Foundation provides art therapy and reStart plans arts-related activities in partnership with local art groups including the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey Dance Studio, the Lyric Opera Camp and many others.