What can $25.00 a month do?

What can you get for $25.00 at Reconciliation Services? Here's a report from Mother Nicole, our Emergency Services Coordinator, on one of the many services of RS - document assistance:

I was walking into a local grocery store the other day when a man yelled out “Sister”. I turned and was greeted by a middle aged man with an exuberant face. He was a little short of breath— having run to catch up with me… “I am sure you don’t remember me but I had to stop you and say thank you. I have a job here and it is because of you…you helped me get my ID and that was all I needed.” As a nurse and someone who has known employees of this establishment, my first thought was that this store offered benefits…including health insurance. I mentioned that and he responded “yes, that’s right—this is the best job!”

I felt elated and thoughtful. What a small thing it is, to help someone obtain the needed documentation to get that job. But it is a life changing event to those that are in need. It costs 11 dollars to obtain an ID in the state of Missouri and in order to do that you need a certified copy of your birth certificate (usually 15 dollars). I had never thought about how difficult that could be for the poor—what a barrier not having it is to living life. They need the documents for jobs, housing, to get their children in school, and to be seen by a health care provider when they are ill. In order to get a birth certificate you must “prove” that you are who you say you are. And that is mandatory for obtaining an ID. This can be quite a “Catch 22”. Having an advocate can help surmount the insurmountable… it is such a simple thing… [NOTE: last Thursday 80 people came in for ID assistance!!!].

Greater Kansas City Community Foundation

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Location

Weekly Schedule

Monday
10:00AM-12:00PM
1:00PM-4:00PM
Pantry & Referrals

Thursday
12:00PM-4:00PM
Document Assistance

7:30PM-9:00PM
Troost Folks

Friday
5:00PM-7:00PM
Meal for Needy

By Appointment
Therapeutic Groups & Counseling

Mission

The mission of Reconciliation Services is to promote personal and community healing throughout Kansas City by treating each person as the image of God.

Provision

Since Reconciliation Services is based on an Eastern Orthodox Christian paradigm, services are provided to all, without regard to race, religion, ethnicity, color, class, age, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. All are served as the Icon or Image of God.

Organization

Reconciliation Services is a 501 (c)3, Missouri, not-for-profit Corporation. It is led by a diverse board of directors. It receives additional guidance from its advisory council comprised of representatives of area Orthodox parishes, area social service agencies, and consumers of its services

Funding

Reconciliation Services is funded by donations, grants, sliding scale fee-based services, and insurance funding when available.

Collaboration

Reconciliation Services seeks to carry out its purposes in a collaborative way with other agencies, instutions, faith-based initatives, and individuals striving to restore a sense of integration between various systems for the good of individuals, families, and society.

Background

Troost Avenue has been known as the racial dividing line in Kansas City, Missouri. Yet, the word Troost is translated as Comforter in Dutch. Even earlier it was translated as tree, trust, and true.

For too long fear has divided us. Too often we see those different from us as the "other", or the "stranger".

The time is now to discover the amazing person in front of us as the image or icon of God.

Vision

The vision of Reconciliation Services is to experience life together as a community, as a village where evry human being is treated as if he or she were Christ Himself.

The vision of Reconciliation Services is to see Troost transformed into the city's gathering place, where healing, love, joy, friendship and community grow from the scarred soil of discrimination.

The vision of Reconciliation Services is to see the Troost community become a tree once again, rooted in being true to one another, nourished on restored trust, and embracing the tremendous varieties of life in our midst.

Purpose

Reconciliation Services seeks to:

For more information regarding these, other services, please follow this link.

Social Teaching

Reconciliation Services conducts its affairs according to Orthodox Christian social teachings with special emphasis on respect for the dignity of the human person made in the image and likeness of God. It promotes the value of life from the moment of conception until the time of death. It seeks to cooperate with movements of peace, harmony, dialogue, and reconciliation with people of all cultures, "transcending human aggressiveness & social conflicts & achieving harmony in relationships among human beings & between entire peoples." (Yannoulatos, 2003)