KC homeless community in dire need of warmth as bitter cold lingers. Here’s how to help
A few dozen people sat on chairs and laid on the ground, most of their direction focused on the TV screen in front of them. But what brought them together wasn’t Will Smith’s performance in “Bad Boys For Life.” They were all there, at Street Medicine KC, to get warm.
Jae Bennett, executive director of Street Medicine KC, looked out his office window Wednesday as people came in and out of the organization’s building, which he turned into a daytime warming center on Dec. 28, just three days before Scott “Sixx” Eike, a man who had been staying at a homeless encampment, was believed to die of hypothermia.
The center, located at 1444 East 8th Street, a couple blocks from a number of tent encampments, is more crowded than ever, with about 65 visitors each day this week. Bennett recognizes faces he hasn’t seen in awhile.
As Kansas City endures a stretch of temperatures barely rising above single digits, members of the city’s homeless community, and advocates and centers who serve them, are looking to the community for more support.
Nellie Ann McCool, a community advocate who visits with her “friends on the street” multiple times a week to make sure they have what they need to survive, said the deadly cold coupled with higher eviction and jobless rates has left more people in dire situations.
“This is the recipe for disaster and a lot of people are finding that out the hard way,” she said, noting that many traditional places of warmth, including libraries and fast food restaurant dining areas, are closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
On Monday, McCool received a text from a friend asking if she could bring her propane and warm clothes.
That evening, McCool, who spends her days working as a department manager at HyVee full-time, drove out to help the woman, who can’t go to an overnight shelter because she has a dog.
“I’ll be so glad when I’m back on my feet because I’m not going to be out here next winter no matter what I have to do because I can’t do this,” the woman texted McCool.
“It hurts too bad,” she wrote of the cold.
McCool said she and many of the members of the community she helps truly are her friends. They celebrate birthdays together. They tell about their lives and ask about hers.
“The only difference is that I’ve got to constantly worry about them freezing to death,” McCool said.
She added that for some people, going to a shelter isn’t always an option, despite the bitter cold. Some people fear they’ll be robbed if they leave their possessions behind. Others have pets or partners they don’t want to be separated from. For people who have experienced frostbite, the walk to a shelter can be too painful.
But overnight shelters are the best options for others, including the couple hundred people who have been hunkering down at Bartle Hall each night.
Roy Porter, 56, spends his evenings at Bartle Hall. When he leaves each morning, he tries to find temporary work, usually at a warehouse.
But on Wednesday, Porter wasn’t able to find work. So he came to Street Medicine KC.
Porter, who has been experiencing intermittent homelessness for nearly five years, said it’s difficult to find a steady job that pays well without also having stable housing. He wishes there were more places to go during the daylight hours.
“It’s really rough. I know if I stay out, I’m going to die,” he said from beneath two jacket hoods.
He plans to travel back across town Wednesday evening to the Scott Eicke warming center at Bartle Hall where a cot awaits him.
The warming center, located in one of the large exhibit spaces in the downtown Kansas City Convention Center, opened on Jan. 29 as a warming shelter for community members through March 31.
Anton Washington, a volunteer at the center and the executive director of Creative Innovative Entrepreneurs, said Wednesday that they are still in need of volunteers to help on overnight shifts at the hall which has recently hosted as many as 300 people.
Washington, who experienced homelessness in Kansas City for two years starting when he was 22, said the volunteers are working to show compassion, love, trust and respect to those who come into the hall.
“The chance that we give is out of love,” he said. “We don’t want to see nobody out in the elements.”
McCool encouraged that same kindness.
If a person comes across an individual who appears to be homeless, McCool recommended asking them three questions.
“Do you have somewhere you can go to get warm. “ If they know of a safe place to go, she encouraged offering to help get them a ride there, whether it’s to a warming center or with a family or friend.
“If there’s nowhere to go, do you have the essentials to keep warm?” If they need more propane, pick some up for them, she said. If they’re using candles, get them a fire extinguisher. Ask if they need more warm clothes or blankets. Even cardboard can be helpful in insulating the inside of a tent from wind.
“Are you hungry?” If so, ask if they need food. She also recommended reaching out to social circles to see if anyone else can help, too.
“Now that two of our friends last month died of hypothermia, it makes it real,” she said, referencing the two known deaths in Kansas City’s homeless community since the year began.
Bennett, at Street Medicine KC, said he fears more people will die in the cold, as happens year after year, despite the resilience of Kansas City’s homeless community.
That’s why he, and so many others, spend their time and energy working toward solutions. But they need help.
“It’s humanity,” he said. “This is supposed to be done.”
Here’s how you can help
Street Medicine KC is located at 1444 East 8th Street and they are open daily from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. until the median temperature rises above 37 degrees. They partner with Nourish KC, which serves food from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.
They are most in need of financial donations, which can be made through their website, or through Venmo at @streetmedicinekc.
Street Medicine KC is also in need of toilet paper, coats, men’s jeans, belts, size 12 and 13 shoes and “anything and everything warm,” Bennett said. They currently have enough feminine hygiene products, hand sanitizer and masks.
Bartle Hall is still in need of volunteers, who can sign up for a block of time online.
The shelter is also in need of physical donations, including single serving snacks and beverages that can be dropped off any day between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. at the center.
Gloves, including rubber gloves and winter gloves as well as handwarmers are also helpful. They are also in need of more hand sanitizer and masks.
Financial donations to help supply bedding can be made through GoFundMe.
ReStart Inc CEO Stephanie Boyer said the shelter is in need of new or used blankets, towels and sheets. Donations can also be made through their website, or on their Amazon wishlist.
ReStart also has virtual and in-person volunteer opportunities, including the need for people to help in the kitchen and in their donation room.
“The needs grows every day,” she said. “Every dollar really does make an impact in some way in being able to help people put an end to their homelessness.”
Other shelters in the area could not be reached to provide a list of needs before time of publication.
A list of other Kansas City shelters can be found here.
This story was originally published February 11, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
