October: Winter is Coming. Families Need Housing Now.

Fall in Kansas City is beautiful. The leaves change, the weather cools, and we begin preparing for the months ahead. But for families experiencing homelessness, cooler weather brings an urgent question: Where will we sleep when the temperatures drop? 

At reStart, we hear that concern every day. 

We opened the reStart Family Lodge in July, tripling our capacity to house 45 families at one time. In the first 60 days, 486 families called needing housing. Most of them are staying in a place not meant for human habitation, a car, storage unit, tent.   

That gap is hard to sit with.

Behind each call is a family looking for a safe place to stay. Parents are trying to protect their children. Children who need sleep, stability, and a place to get ready for school. 

The Family Lodge has given us more room to help, but the calls make clear how much more housing our community needs. Winter is approaching, and families cannot wait for another planning cycle or another season of discussion. 

Kansas City is beginning to embrace housing as the solution to homelessness. Those conversations matter. Now we need to turn them into more places where people can live, with the support they need to stay housed. 

Emergency shelter and transitional housing can provide safety tonight. Permanent housing gives families the stability to plan for tomorrow. We need both, and we need our community’s help to make them available.

This October, I'm inviting you to act.

Donate to reStart Inc. to help families find safety and support. 

Volunteer with your company or group to support reStart’s work. 

Advocate for housing solutions in your neighborhood.  

Learn about and support zoning and policy changes that make affordable housing possible. https://kclibrary.org/series/magc 

Become a landlord partner and help families move into permanent homes. 

Opening the Family Lodge was a step forward. The 486 families who have called in its first 60 days show us why we have to keep going. 

We cannot wait for the first freezing night to make housing a priority. 

Families need a safe place to go now.