City and Local Groups Move from Working Alone to Working Together on addressing Homelessness in Excelsior Springs

Excelsior Springs, Mo. (August 19, 2025) – Homelessness in Excelsior Springs hasn’t always been addressed with a unified effort, as many local groups have attempted to address it independently. Now, for the first time, city staff and community organizations are meeting together to coordinate care, identify gaps, and prepare for the colder months ahead.

Since June, Economic Development Director Melinda Mehaffy has hosted a monthly Homelessness Committee that includes service providers, church representatives, and city staff such as Neighborhood Specialist Laura Mize. The group’s purpose is to examine homelessness in Excelsior Springs, understand where services fall short, and build strategies for a more unified response. Their most recent meeting was held on August 19.

Members often share stories from their work with people who are unhoused and struggling to access stable housing or services. These accounts emphasize that the challenges are serious and ongoing, with no single agency able to fully meet an individual’s needs.

One proposal from the group is to expand trauma-informed care training. This type of training equips teachers, law enforcement, hospital staff, volunteers, and other providers to recognize stress and trauma and respond with empathy and consistency. The committee believes such training could reduce confusion during crises and create a more reliable experience for those seeking help, no matter where they receive care in Excelsior Springs. Still, questions remain about costs, who would lead the training, and whether local organizations are willing to commit.

The committee has also reviewed Missouri’s Coordinated Entry system, the statewide process for registering and prioritizing people for housing. Kelly Anderson, a Good Samaritan Center board member and president of Excelsior Springs Eden Village, described the system as difficult for both providers and clients, with missed phone calls or missing documents often preventing placements. To address this, Anderson is exploring helping the Good Samaritan Center become a Coordinated Entry assessment spot in the future. Anderson and Officer Ryan Dowdy will also be serving as backup contacts to help prevent delays if there are missed phone calls from CE representatives.

To further connect people with resources, the committee is considering bringing back a local Homeless Connections event. In the past, this one-day gathering allowed residents to meet with multiple providers and complete assessments in a single setting, streamlining a process that can otherwise be interrupted with roadblocks. 

Those kinds of practical solutions feel especially urgent with winter approaching. Members discussed the need for safe daytime spaces and warming centers, as well as easier access to basics like drinking water. Ideas on the table include mapping out free refill stations across town, applying for grants to cover costs, and developing clear guidelines for churches that want to serve as warming centers so they can do so safely and legally.

As discussions move forward, the committee has emphasized the importance of keeping existing services steady while layering in new approaches. The hope is that by working together, agencies that once operated independently can create a stronger safety net, ensuring more people are connected to housing and support without falling through the cracks.

The next meeting is scheduled for October, when members plan to refine winter strategies, review event opportunities, and invite additional service providers into the conversation.

Updated September 5th, 2025: Story was corrected to reflect the Good Samaritan Center’s CE status as exploring in the future. It was previously reported that they had already become an assessment center.