Restoring Lives Through Compassionate, Holistic Recovery Services

Benilde Hall is a Kansas City-based organization dedicated to helping adult men recover from substance use disorders and mental health challenges. For over 30 years, it has provided a safe and structured environment where men can heal from trauma, find stable housing, regain employment, and reintegrate into the community as productive and responsible individuals.

At the heart of Benilde Hall’s approach is its Substance Abuse Treatment (SAT) program, a comprehensive, trauma-informed, and evidence-based service rooted in the Therapeutic Community (TC) model. In this model, the community itself—staff, peers in recovery, and residents—acts as the agent of change. It’s a place where healing is collaborative, and personal growth is supported through shared responsibility, mutual support, and daily participation in the life of the program.

Each year, Benilde Hall serves 235 adult men from Jackson County, Missouri, most of whom face substance use, homelessness, and co-occurring mental health disorders. Many have also experienced incarceration or involvement with the criminal justice system. Despite these challenges, Benilde Hall helps clients find a pathway forward—one that leads to sobriety, stability, and self-sufficiency.

A Two-Level Approach to Treatment

Benilde Hall offers services through two levels of care:

• Level II provides intensive residential treatment for men experiencing homelessness and substance use. Clients live in safe, structured housing and receive individual and group counseling, mental health services, and substance use education.

• Level IV continues this support as clients begin to stabilize. Services here focus more on case management, employment support, and reintegration into the broader community.

This continuum of care ensures that clients receive the right level of support at each stage of their recovery journey.

Effective, Person-Centered Services

What sets Benilde Hall apart is its wraparound model, which addresses not just substance use but also the interconnected issues of mental illness, trauma, unemployment, and housing instability. Services include:

• Counseling and Therapy – Delivered by credentialed professionals using evidence-based approaches like motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy, Seeking Safety, and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).

• Mental Health Services – Clients with dual diagnoses receive therapy, medication management, and crisis support.

• Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) – In partnership with University Health, MAT helps clients manage withdrawal, prevent overdose, and support long-term recovery.

• Housing – Emergency, transitional, and independent housing options are provided to ensure stability throughout the recovery process.

• Case Management – Staff help clients apply for benefits, find employment, reconnect with family, and transition to independent living.

• Aftercare Planning – Before discharge, clients receive support connecting to community services, transportation, housing providers, and peer recovery groups.

• Work Therapy – Clients gain valuable work experience through Benilde Hall’s own landscaping and maintenance service, known as Benilde Services.

These services are all delivered under one roof, allowing clients to focus on healing without having to navigate multiple agencies or systems.

A Program That Works

Benilde Hall’s impact is clear. In 2023:

• 90% of discharged clients were abstinent from drugs and alcohol

• 99% had secured housing

• 95% had no new or reduced arrests

• 67% gained employment or income

• The average length of stay was 77 days, which research shows significantly improves chances of lifelong recovery

These outcomes far exceed national averages for both in-prison and outpatient treatment programs. By helping men rebuild their lives, Benilde Hall strengthens families, neighborhoods, and the broader Jackson County community.

Meeting the Rising Need

Substance use continues to rise in Jackson County. In 2022, 305 residents died from drug overdoses, and opioid deaths increased by 23% from the previous year. Mental illness, homelessness, and justice involvement are closely intertwined with addiction. Nearly 65% of males on probation or parole in Missouri are at medium to high risk for substance use relapse.

Benilde Hall serves a population that is statistically at the highest risk. In 2023:

• 95% of clients had substance use disorders

• 70% had co-occurring mental health conditions

• 60% were veterans

• 53% were uninsured

• 91% were living below the federal poverty line

• 17% were recently incarcerated

Without stable treatment and housing options, many of these men would cycle in and out of jail, emergency rooms, and homelessness. Benilde Hall interrupts that cycle.

Looking Ahead

With continued support, including from Jackson County’s COMBAT (Community Backed Anti-Drug Tax) program, Benilde Hall is expanding its services to meet growing needs:

• Increasing staff training in evidence-based and culturally responsive care

• Implementing National CLAS Standards to better serve diverse communities

• Launching a rebranding and outreach effort to raise public awareness of its work

• Growing partnerships with the Department of Corrections and drug courts to support justice-involved individuals

• Enhancing its cultural competence initiatives through its internal WATCH Committee (Workplace Awareness, Training, and Cultural Humility)

Why It Matters

Substance use doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s often tied to trauma, poverty, lack of support, and unmet mental health needs. Benilde Hall understands this. It provides more than treatment—it provides a path to dignity, purpose, and long-term recovery.

For the hundreds of men who walk through Benilde Hall’s doors each year, the message is clear: you are not alone, and recovery is possible.

Locations

Click on the window icon (upper right corner) of the map below to expand. List of all program locations is included with expanded view of map. Locations are also listed on this page below the map.