Tag: Thelma Gardner

Reconciliation Services

Reconciliation Services hopes to heal trauma in the heart of stigmatized Troost corridor

By Tommy Felts / September 6, 2018

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…

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Thelma's Kitchen

Thelma’s Kitchen cooks up pay-what-you-can cafe concept to preserve community

By Tommy Felts / September 6, 2018

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.…

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