Posts Tagged ‘Reconciliation Services’
‘Rise Up, Get Started’ shifts to matching grant program for formerly incarcerated entrepreneurs
Rather than continue as an entrepreneurship competition for formerly incarcerated people, “Rise Up, Get Started” is pivoting to a matching grant program that supports more individuals seeking a new path through small business, said Kyle J. Benson-Smith. “I was inspired by hearing the stories of second chance entrepreneurs from folks who were starting successful businesses…
Read MoreReconciliation Services hopes to heal trauma in the heart of stigmatized Troost corridor
Commanded by Scripture, David Altschul journeyed into parts unknown, said his successor, Father Justin Mathews. In the mid-1980s, a philanthropic pull tugged at the heart of Altschul — a white, insurance salesman from Johnson County — and eventually led him into the distressed, history-rich neighborhoods that lined Troost Avenue on the east side of…
Read MoreThelma’s Kitchen cooks up pay-what-you-can cafe concept to preserve community
Twenty people once filled the kitchen of Thelma Gardner’s apartment in search of their next meal. Their hunger for food fueled her hunger for humanity, recounted Father Justin Mathews as he sat sipping coffee in the newly opened Thelma’s Kitchen. The pay-what-you-can restaurant — located inside of the Reconciliation Services building at 3101 Troost Ave.…
Read MoreOperation Breakthrough bridge over Troost symbolizes ‘real community’ at an intersection
With reflection in his voice, Alvin Brooks paused. “The city has to be a partner,” the Civil Rights activist and veteran Kansas City Police Commissioner said as he spoke of the redevelopment of Troost Avenue — the well known racial dividing line, that has long isolated the east side of the Kansas City metro from the…
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