The Morningstar Outreach Program is the substance use arm of the Kansas City Indian Center in Kansas City, Missouri, serving American Indian individuals and families dealing with alcohol and drug dependency. It has operated since 1974, working to identify people in the area who need help and to build a recovery plan with them and their families. The Kansas City Indian Center is a nonprofit and describes itself as the only multi-purpose social service agency for American Indians in the Kansas City area.
Outpatient Support Rooted in Native Culture
Morningstar provides outpatient treatment together with ongoing supported recovery, meaning the relationship does not end when a course of treatment does. Therapeutic work helps people address what past substance use has left behind, and follow-up continues afterward. What distinguishes the program is that cultural activities appropriate to Native Americans are built into it rather than added on, so recovery is pursued within a cultural context rather than apart from one. Outreach extends past the individual to families, the wider community, and other agencies, reflecting the program’s outreach role alongside its treatment work.
Meetings, Counseling, and Prevention
A weekly wellness meeting follows the White Bison approach, an adaptation of the twelve steps developed specifically for Native communities, and it runs online so people can join without traveling. Counseling is available with a licensed clinical social worker on set days each week, and telehealth appointments by phone or video are offered alongside in-person visits. The program also carries out prevention work aimed at people at high risk, with particular attention to young people, which puts it on both sides of the line, working to keep some people from developing a problem while helping others recover from one.
