Last year, as a snowstorm raged and as temperatures dropped below 20 degrees, Sean T. struggled to find a warm place to stay the night in Kansas City, Kansas. He was looking for the cold weather shelter at Bridge of Hope Community Church, but weariness overcame him. He sat down to rest.
“The next thing I knew, I had passed out…

In Wyandotte County, an involuntary commitment court is working hard to become a “helping court.”
With the cooperation of Judge Kathleen Lynch’s trauma-informed courtroom, law enforcement and community partners like the Wyandot Center (Wyandotte County’s mental health center), those on involuntary commitment court orders are being given more opportunities to succeed.

By Debra DeCoster   Gunshots sounded in Dola Gabriel’s Kansas City, Kansas, neighborhood at 3 a.m. on a Wednesday last year.  Upon hearing the rapid fire of bullets, Gabriel, senior research assistant for KU Center for Community Health and Development, rolled out of her bed and onto the floor, hoping that the bullets wouldn’t slam…

Story and photos by Karen Schotanus Bonner Springs has discovered a novel, and successful, way to address a critical health need in its downtown: a farmers’ market. In just its first year, the Bonner Springs Farmers’ Market has seen phenomenal success, attracting more than two dozen vendors and an estimated 500-700 consumers every Saturday morning….