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ArtsTech Violence Prevention
ArtsTech’s Integrated Arts and Tech Violence Prevention Program uses the power of creativity, culture, and connection to prevent violence and substance abuse among youth in Kansas City’s most affected neighborhoods. Combining evidence-based practices with structured art, technology, mentoring, and wraparound support, this program engages young people where they are—emotionally, culturally, and developmentally—and gives them the tools to envision and build a safer, healthier future. Drawing from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report "Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences: Leveraging the Best Available Evidence (2019)," ArtsTech takes a six-pronged, strength-based approach to youth development, particularly for young people living in high-risk zip codes and neighborhoods identified as violence "hotspots."
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High Aspirations
High Aspirations is a vibrant mentoring program dedicated to supporting African American males ages 8 to 18 living in Kansas City’s urban core. Operating every Saturday, High Aspirations provides structured and engaging sessions designed to build leadership skills, self-confidence, and positive community involvement. The program actively addresses educational disparities, economic challenges, and community safety concerns facing Black youth in the area. Each Saturday, with guidance from a program specialist, interns, a Concerned Mothers Group, mentors, and community volunteers, High Aspirations hosts two one-hour sessions serving more than 70 boys per session.
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KC Municipal Court Truancy Intervention
The Truancy Intervention Program works closely with the Kansas City Municipal Court to provide case management and outreach services to children and families involved in Truancy Court. Directed by the presiding judge, this program aims to identify and address the root causes of truancy among children ages 7 to 17, helping them overcome barriers to regular school attendance. Ultimately, the goal is to improve both school attendance and academic performance through coordinated support and community referrals. Each year, approximately 300 students appear in Kansas City’s Truancy Court due to challenges attending school consistently. While truancy is often seen as a disciplinary issue, the program recognizes that underlying factors frequently contribute to these attendance problems. These can include bullying, exposure to gang activity, difficult family situations, mental health concerns, and substance use.
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Operation Breakthrough Opportunity Internships
Operation Breakthrough’s Ignition Lab is a dynamic, safe, and supportive program providing meaningful before- and after-school, as well as summer activities for teens living in Kansas City. This initiative addresses the critical need to protect youth from the negative influences of the streets during times when they are most vulnerable and unsupervised. By offering educational and goal-oriented programming, Ignition Lab helps teens build skills and confidence that set them on a path toward success. The Opportunity Internship program, an integral part of Ignition Lab, provides a valuable springboard for students from economically challenged and often violent neighborhoods. Through social-emotional learning and peer mentoring, this program helps participants develop the interpersonal skills and resilience needed to avoid aggressive behaviors, increase school attendance, and improve family relationships. Studies have shown that such programs can reduce aggression by up to 32%.
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Reconciliation Services REVEAL
Reconciliation Services (RS) delivers comprehensive, strength-building assistance through its REVEAL Social and Mental Health Services Program. This program offers a wide range of vital services aimed at individuals and families affected by poverty, trauma, violence, and behavioral and mental health challenges in Jackson County, Missouri’s most disinvested urban neighborhoods. RS’s holistic approach includes ID-document assistance, comprehensive housing support and counseling, intensive case management, evidence-based trauma therapy, medical and dental supplies through Access KC, food assistance via Thelma’s Kitchen, trauma-informed workforce development, and economic mobility initiatives. These services are designed to foster resilience, promote healing, and support long-term stability for vulnerable populations. RS serves clients across the metropolitan area but prioritizes neighborhoods east of Troost—areas with the highest concentrations of poverty, violence, and trauma.
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Urban Neighborhood Initiative
The Urban Neighborhood Initiative (UNI) serves as a vital force for transformation within a two-square-mile area of Kansas City’s urban core—bounded by Troost Avenue, Prospect Avenue, Truman Road, and 52nd Street. Home to more than 45,000 residents across ten neighborhoods, this area faces deeply entrenched socioeconomic challenges rooted in a legacy of redlining, underinvestment, and systemic inequity. The UNI-KC Block Connector Program was created to address these challenges by promoting community safety, health, and connection. Through regular events, safety initiatives, and neighborhood meetings, the program fosters trust, builds relationships, and empowers residents to be active partners in the renewal of their communities.
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Urban Ranger Corps
The Urban Renaissance Center (URC) is committed to supporting young men as they navigate the complex path from adolescence to adulthood. Grounded in research and driven by compassion, the URC Youth Empowerment Program offers support to boys beginning in 6th grade and continuing through high school. The goal is to foster academic achievement, emotional resilience, healthy relationship, and community engagement. For many young men of color, the journey to adulthood is filled with unique challenges. Growing up in under-resourced neighborhoods, attending schools that lack adequate support, and enduring racial bias in academic and legal systems can have lasting effects on a young man’s potential. The URC Youth Empowerment Program was developed to provide a counterbalance to the negative influences and systemic barriers facing young men in the urban core. URC focuses on early intervention, mentorship, emotional support, academic enrichment and real-world preparation.
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Youth Ambassadors
Youth Ambassadors (YA) is a dynamic program serving Greater Kansas City youth ages 14 to 18. Grounded in strengths-based principles, YA combines social-emotional learning, trauma healing, and violence prevention to help young people overcome significant challenges and become leaders in their communities. By providing specialized training in life skills, job readiness, health, entrepreneurship, community development, and creative expression, YA equips youth to thrive both personally and professionally. Mental health services are embedded into the program, offering free, onsite therapy as a vital support. Youth in Jackson County’s urban neighborhoods face deep and persistent hardships. These include poverty, community violence, food insecurity, underfunded infrastructure, and high rates of unemployment and incarceration within families. These conditions create an environment where youth are exposed to trauma and limited access to the support they need.
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Youth Guidance BAM & WOW
BAM and WOW are vital counseling programs serving approximately 105 students each week in Kansas City schools. These programs provide weekly group counseling sessions, known as “Circles,” alongside individual support, crisis intervention, and drop-in check-ins. Beyond working directly with students, BAM and WOW counselors collaborate closely with teachers, school staff, and administrators to build a strong, student-centered support network that helps young people thrive both inside and outside the classroom. Many young people face significant obstacles outside school that directly impact their ability to succeed academically and socially. Poverty, exposure to trauma, and difficulties regulating emotions or behavior are common barriers for the youth BAM and WOW serve. These factors can lead to falling behind in school, engaging in risky behaviors, or even dropping out entirely.
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Violence Prevention Programs