•  Children’s Mercy medical clinic on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons
• Psychiatrist on campus Tuesday and Wednesday
• Assessments (family, individual, safety, functional, social)
• Individual, Family, Group Therapies
• Cooperation with local school districts in activation on McKinney-Vento
• Supervised family visits
• Psychological assessments
• Site for Family Support Team Meetings
• Transportation of children
• Bus fare and passes
• In-home evaluations
• Respite

The Need

There were and are simply not enough shelter beds to accommodate our community’s need. The lack of shelter space causes lots of problems for these kids. First, the shortage makes it nearly impossible to place siblings together. When a shelter bed isn’t available, children might be placed anywhere in the state, as far away as Springfield or Columbia, making it difficult for family members who care for them to support them. Finally, being taken from one’s home is a critical moment in a troubled child’s life. Getting expert crisis and trauma counseling as soon as possible can make a big difference in the months and years to come.

Those That Are Helped

Any child from infancy to age 18 taken into Missouri Children’s Division custody is a fit. That includes boys, girls, toddlers, teens and teens with toddlers. As a leader in trauma-focused counseling and the treatment of children with Post-traumatic Stress Syndrome or symptoms, Gillis expects to be the preferred placement option for children coming from extreme situations. These children, fresh from traumatic situations are in a critical period of their lives.

How You Can Help

One of the reasons there are not enough shelter beds in our city is the state simply doesn’t reimburse shelter providers with enough to make them viable. Your financial support can insure that kids get what they need when there is nowhere else to go. The KC Children’s Emergency Shelter is also in need of in-kind donations. Click here to view our Target registry.

When they were taken into Missouri Children’s Division custody in 2009, they suffered from chaotic situation in their home had Cody already exhibiting symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress syndrome while the children waited with a social worker in a police station to find out where they would be placed. It was obvious that Cody needed the trained counseling available at an emergency children’s shelter.

But there were just no beds available for Cody and Aubrey. They were split up and sent to overcrowded foster placements. Cody’s post-traumatic behavior caused his placement to fail in just two days. He was placed far from any family in Springfield, MO.

If there had only been children’s shelter beds available for these two vulnerable kids, they would have met trained trauma counselors and play therapists and gotten immediate help coping with the harmful and chaotic home they had been taken from. As it was, the lack of shelter beds in our community only resulted in more trauma.

Unfortunately, it was the best Kansas City could do. Gillis is changing that.