Six solutions to Kansas City's homelessness crisis explored

The articles discuss solutions and debates about rising homelessness in Kansas City. They focus on how policies, city actions, and community responses affect people in crisis. The stories explore different approaches, from sweeping people off the streets to funding local support systems.

One article questions whether moving unhoused people out of sight solves deeper trauma and personal issues that keep them on the streets. Another describes how local Black farmers and nonprofits organize fresh food box deliveries to fill nutrition gaps where stores have closed. A separate story details how property taxes rising faster than inflation threaten to displace long-standing residents from their homes. The discussion across all focuses on how city actions, funding priorities, and community-led programs each try to ease the pressure but also face limits and trade-offs.

NO. 1: SWEEP UP THE HOMELESS VS. CITY-COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS? WHICH, IF ANY, WORK? | OPINION

MELINDA: | Published August 21, 2025 | Read Full Story by Melinda Henneberger, David Mastio

NO. 2: HOW SHOPPING FOR SCHOOL SUPPLIES LED ME TO FIGHT FOR KANSAS FAMILIES | OPINION

It was one of those brutally hot August mornings Kansas is famous for — the kind where the air is heavy before you’ve even eaten breakfast. | Published August 22, 2025 | Read Full Story by Cindy Holscher

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Young Family Farm in Kansas City. A now-cancelled USDA grant could have helped the farm sell more produce by expanding a farmers market. By Tammy Ljungblad

NO. 3: SUN FRESH CLOSURE LEFT A HOLE IN KC’S GROCERY SCENE. BLACK FARMERS ARE FILLING IT

The shuttering of the Sun Fresh at 31st and Prospect leaves a hole in Kansas City’s food infrastructure. | Published August 21, 2025 | Read Full Story by Eleanor Nash

The Strawberry Hill neighborhood in Wyandotte County. Wyandotte County residents paid the highest effective property tax rate in the metropolitan area in 2023. By File

NO. 4: WE KCK RESIDENTS LOVE OUR HOMES, BUT WE CAN’T AFFORD THESE TAX INCREASES | OPINION

I’ve owned property in Kansas City, Kansas, since 2013. | Published August 24, 2025 | Read Full Story by David Beauchamp

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For the third time in 2025, the Independence School District has placed an employee on administrative leave due to their involvement in a criminal investigation.

NO. 5: FEDERAL CHARGES SAY 1ST GRADE TEACHER FILMED CHILD PORN IN A KC-AREA SCHOOL

An elementary school teacher who taught in multiple Kansas City-area school districts in recent years was charged Thursday with three federal offenses related to child sexual abuse materials, after allegedly filming young children’s genitals while they were in his care in school settings. | Published August 21, 2025 | Read Full Story by Ilana Arougheti

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NO. 6: A WOMAN WITH HIV SPENT SIX YEARS IN SOLITARY. SHE SUED AND MISSOURI WILL CHANGE ITS POLICY

This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project - St. | Published August 23, 2025 | Read Full Story by Hannah Wise

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.