2019-2020 Signature Mission
Avenue of Life
The Village Church Mission Committee selected Avenue of Life’s Unaccompanied Homeless Youth House as the 2019-2020 Signature Mission. With $15,000 from Village Church Mission operating budget and $28,328 from the Village Church Endowment Least of These Fund along with gifts from Kansas City foundations, companies and individual donors, donations are being used to hire qualified staff to run the operations and provide programming assistance to care for the teens’ day-to-day needs.
Launched in 2013, Avenue of Life (AOL) focuses on breaking the cycle of poverty through education, housing, healthcare and economic development. AOL’s two primary sites are the Business Training Center in KCMO and the Equipping Center in KCK. Kansas City, Kansas holds the highest concentration of poverty in Wyandotte County, Kansas, the county with the highest poverty rates in the six-county Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area.
The Equipping Center in KCK provides a comprehensive range of programs and services designed to meet the emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual needs of families throughout the urban core of Kansas City. Collaborative outreach space is offered to 17 partnering organizations to provide their specialized services. AOL hosts community classes such as GED, ESL, financial and employment readiness. In KCK, AOL has become the backbone agency for a collaborative called Kansas Community Leadership Enterprise and their Impact Programs at the Equipping Center, which began to strategize ways to dramatically lower the overall poverty rates for children in Wyandotte, as well address the high school dropout rates.
During the fall of 2019, Avenue of Life renovated and opened an Unaccompanied Homeless Youth House in Kansas City, Kansas. In AOL’s district, there are currently 46 unaccompanied homeless youth, and no youth shelters exist in Wyandotte County. In response to the need, AOL has secured a house in Wyandotte with 18 bedrooms and adequate space to provide transformational, wrap-around support for youth. AOL plans to provide a long-term home for youth through graduation with assistance in transitioning to career and college. In order to get the youth to graduation, AOL will provide proper care and guidance through licensed therapists, case workers, mentors, and personal tutors. They will provide teachers and mentors to teach residents how to manage personal finances, cook well-balanced meals, engage in healthy recreation, develop entrepreneurial skills, and help them apply to colleges and places of employment.
AOL offers many volunteer opportunities ranging from serving meals and sorting clothing to teaching a class and mentoring youth. If you are interested in finding out more about how you can get involved, call 816-787-6101.
Launched in 2013, Avenue of Life (AOL) focuses on breaking the cycle of poverty through education, housing, healthcare and economic development. AOL’s two primary sites are the Business Training Center in KCMO and the Equipping Center in KCK. Kansas City, Kansas holds the highest concentration of poverty in Wyandotte County, Kansas, the county with the highest poverty rates in the six-county Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area.
The Equipping Center in KCK provides a comprehensive range of programs and services designed to meet the emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual needs of families throughout the urban core of Kansas City. Collaborative outreach space is offered to 17 partnering organizations to provide their specialized services. AOL hosts community classes such as GED, ESL, financial and employment readiness. In KCK, AOL has become the backbone agency for a collaborative called Kansas Community Leadership Enterprise and their Impact Programs at the Equipping Center, which began to strategize ways to dramatically lower the overall poverty rates for children in Wyandotte, as well address the high school dropout rates.
During the fall of 2019, Avenue of Life renovated and opened an Unaccompanied Homeless Youth House in Kansas City, Kansas. In AOL’s district, there are currently 46 unaccompanied homeless youth, and no youth shelters exist in Wyandotte County. In response to the need, AOL has secured a house in Wyandotte with 18 bedrooms and adequate space to provide transformational, wrap-around support for youth. AOL plans to provide a long-term home for youth through graduation with assistance in transitioning to career and college. In order to get the youth to graduation, AOL will provide proper care and guidance through licensed therapists, case workers, mentors, and personal tutors. They will provide teachers and mentors to teach residents how to manage personal finances, cook well-balanced meals, engage in healthy recreation, develop entrepreneurial skills, and help them apply to colleges and places of employment.
AOL offers many volunteer opportunities ranging from serving meals and sorting clothing to teaching a class and mentoring youth. If you are interested in finding out more about how you can get involved, call 816-787-6101.
