September- 45 Years. 45 Families. One Homecoming

There are moments in the life of an organization when the past, present and future come together in a way you could never have planned. For reStart, this is one of those moments. 

This year, reStart celebrates 45 years of serving Kansas City. 

And in our 45th year, we opened the doors to something extraordinary: 

45 new Family Lodge units for families with children experiencing homelessness. 

45 years. 45 family units. Hundreds of families will have a different place to begin their journey home. 

As we are preparing for our annual Homecoming fundraiser on September 17, I can't think of a more meaningful way to celebrate where reStart has been—or where we are going. 

For 45 years, reStart has been there when our neighbors needed somewhere to turn.

Our organization has changed tremendously during that time. Programs have grown. Buildings have changed. Our understanding of homelessness has evolved. And the needs facing Kansas City today look very different than they did when reStart first opened its doors. 

But one thing remains constant: 

When someone in our community has nowhere else to go, reStart believes there should be a door open to them. 

This summer, we opened 45 more. 

The reStart Family Lodge now provides temporary housing for 45 families at one time. Each family has a private suite with bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchenette and living space—a place where parents and children can stay together while they work toward permanent housing.

For a family that has been sleeping in a vehicle, moving from place to place, staying somewhere unsafe or facing the possibility of having nowhere to sleep, that door can change everything. 

It means a parent can put groceries in a refrigerator. 

A child can have a bed of their own. 

There can be a place to finish homework, eat dinner together and establish a routine. 

And at the end of the day, a parent can close the door and know their children are safe.

More than 45 Rooms.

The Family Lodge was never designed simply to give families a place to sleep. 

It was designed to help families leave homelessness behind. 

Families are surrounded by services and support focused on housing, employment, education, health, transportation and the individual barriers standing between them and permanent housing. 

Our goal is not for families to become comfortable in shelter. 

Our goal is for families to move home. 

That is why the word Homecoming carries so much meaning for us this year. 

Homecoming is usually associated with returning to a familiar place—a school, a neighborhood or a community filled with people and memories. 

At reStart, we think about homecoming a little differently. 

Sometimes homecoming isn't about returning somewhere. 

Sometimes it's about finally having the opportunity to go home. 

On September 17, our community will gather for reStart's annual Homecoming fundraiser, and this year the event will directly benefit the Family Lodge. 

This celebration comes at an extraordinary moment in our history. 

We are celebrating 45 years of reStart while investing in 45 new opportunities for families to find stability, safety and a path home. 

And we need Kansas City alongside us. 

Opening the Family Lodge was a tremendous accomplishment, but opening the building was only the beginning. 

Every day, families need meals, transportation, children's supplies, housing navigation, case management and individualized support. Our team is working alongside parents to remove barriers, identify housing and help families build the stability necessary to move forward. 

When you support Homecoming, you help make all of that possible. 

You aren't simply supporting a building.

You are investing in what happens inside it- and what happens after a family leaves it.

Imagine the Next 45 Years 

Anniversaries naturally make us look backward. 

I am incredibly proud of what reStart and this community have accomplished over the past 45 years.

Thousands of people have walked through our doors during some of the hardest days of their lives, and generations of staff members, volunteers, donors and community partners have stood beside them. 

But this anniversary also makes me think about what comes next.

What could Kansas City look like if we spend the next 45 years not simply managing homelessness, but creating more pathways out of it? 

What if we continue building affordable housing? 

What if we keep creating places like the Family Lodge? 

What if we make sure that when a family reaches a crisis, their only option isn't a car, a motel or the street? 

And what if, 45 years from now, the story we tell isn't about how many people needed shelter—but about how many people found their way home? 

That is the future reStart is working toward. 

And we cannot build it alone. 

On September 17, I hope you will join us for Homecoming and celebrate an extraordinary milestone: 

45 years of opening doors. 45 new Family Lodge units. And one Kansas City community committed to making sure more families have a place to call home. 

Because after 45 years, we still believe something very simple: 

A Stronger Kansas City Starts with a Home for Everyone.