Shelter KC’s Women’s Center is a 20-bed long-term residential recovery program in Kansas City, Missouri, for single women 18 and older facing homelessness and addiction. It opened in 2013 as part of an organization that has served Kansas City since 1950, and it offers safe housing alongside recovery support.
Sisters of Recovery
The center’s program, Sisters of Recovery, combines life skills classes, one-on-one coaching, and spiritual guidance with addiction recovery support and relapse prevention training. Care is trauma-informed, which means staff work with an understanding of how past harm shapes a woman’s behavior and her recovery, and they build safety and choice into how they respond. The women who come here have survived a range of hard circumstances, including addiction, trafficking, violence at home, and time in jail or prison. Along with recovery work, the program provides stable housing, mentoring, and a community where women hold one another accountable and encourage one another spiritually.
Practical Support and Admission
Case managers help women plan their next housing step and sort out practical obstacles, including getting a state ID and applying for Medicaid, and they connect women with outside resources when needed. Employment readiness and work therapy prepare women to return to the workforce. Admission to the residential program is by referral and begins with a phone screening, followed by an intake assessment, with a decision usually coming within 24 hours. The center serves women who are not caring for children, since Shelter KC doesn’t have facilities for children.
