Bodhi Home Reopens to Homeless Clients After Renovation

It has been nearly two decades since Kar Woo, a sculptor and gallery owner, established Artists Helping the Homeless (AHH) in Kansas City, Missouri. And Woo recently returned to his roots by renovating the first home opened by the nonprofit.

AHH refreshed the Midtown home with about $60,000 in new paint, fixtures, appliances, and furniture. The project took the house out of service for nearly all of last year, but it welcomed eight new residents in December.

A native of Hong Kong, Woo gives inspirational names to all AHH homes. The Midtown home is known as Bodhi, which is associated with the Buddhist concept of awakening or enlightenment.

From inspiration to expansion

AHH now operates eight houses across the metro region and in Lawrence, Kansas, as well as an 18-unit apartment building in Kansas City, Missouri. The increase in the number of properties speaks to demand; AHH houses and apartments are almost always full and have waiting lists.

Bodhi is a first-stage house that serves individuals just released from incarceration and/or treatment. Residents advance to second-stage houses as they are ready for steps like working, advancing their education, and reconnecting with family.

“I want (clients) to really thrive, to build their life, turn their life around to become contributing members of the community, instead of depending on the community to move forward for the rest of their life,” Woo said. “So it’s never really the number, it’s the quality.”

But the numbers are there, too: AHH served more than 1,500 people in 2023, including clients who needed services other than housing. (Woo even soldiered on during the pandemic.)

Bodhi was a key building block in getting started.

“Without Bodhi, we could not really get the program to grow. It gave us a means to learn and really, really work with the people and then understand what is needed,” Woo said.

And, there has been a lot of learning – the road from Bodhi to eight houses and an apartment complex has been bumpy. Not every community has embraced AHH, and not every landlord has wanted to rent to program graduates. 

Woo ran into landlord resistance early on when Bodhi residents were ready to move out into an apartment of their own.

“When … (graduates were) ready to move forward … then they couldn’t rent places because of their background or credit history or legal issues. Even though the legal issues are not that complicated or that serious.”

Woo tried to block rent units at apartment buildings and was turned down. That’s when he decided to purchase the apartment building.

Success in Lawrence

AHH recently marked five years working in partnership with Douglas County. The county allocates about $500,000 annually to support AHH’s two Lawrence homes, with a return on investment coming through decreased utilization of the county jail.

The county cross-referenced AHH data with jail reentry data for 2019 through 2021. For clients involved with AHH for more than 30 days, jail reentries, mental health intakes, and the total number of days spent in jail all decreased.

A report on the findings concluded that AHH’s work saved Douglas County a little more than $250,000 by averting 1,094 jail bed days. It costs the county about $230 to house an inmate for 24 hours, including utilities, food, staffing, and staff benefits.

Sheriff Jay Armbrister said the impact is likely greater when you consider the number of people AHH probably kept from interacting with the criminal justice system.

He said AHH succeeds because it provides services for free and hires program graduates to be house leaders, drivers, and other support team members.

“I think it’s perfect,” he said of AHH’s peer-led program.

Testimonial

Dustin Moore is a living example of AHH’s approach. He also knows how important it is for AHH to help with basic services.

“I’ve transitioned out of jail countless times and not once did I ever leave with my ID, my birth certificate, or my Social Security card,” said Moore, AHH’s community manager in Lawrence.

It can take hours to obtain an ID, and that’s if one has ready transportation and all the requisite documents.

Without the secondary documents needed to obtain an ID — a birth certificate and Social Security card, for instance — the process can take days or weeks. Or, for those recovering from addiction and navigating life after jail, several months.

If someone is lucky enough to find housing, that’s great, Moore said, but stressors of readjusting to life outside of jail and staying current on rent can lead to lapsing into bad habits. “There was a time I was more comfortable selling drugs and committing crimes to make money than I was paying rent.”

Help With Housing

Homelessness continues to be a problem both locally and nationally, with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reporting that the 12% increase from 2022 to 2023 put homelessness rates at their highest point since 2007.

AHH is doing its part to address homelessness by helping 238 individuals for 20,512 nights in 2023. AHH housed 218 residents in 2022. The average stay is 56 nights.

The organization has also paid for 48 stays for 1,670 nights at the Salvation Army’s Harbor Light program in Kansas City, Kansas. 

AHH’s progress has not come without hitches.

Most notably, some Johnson County residents have fought Woo in court over his plan to open an AHH home in their neighborhood. Woo said the case remains open even after city officials and the neighborhood association concluded that the home was allowed under the federal Fair Housing Act.

That legal battle in Shannon Valley comes amidst the county’s failed effort to establish a homeless shelter, which the Lenexa City Council voted down in September

Meanwhile, Douglas County Assistant Administrator Jill Jolicoeur said that, despite all its plusses, Lawrence can be a hard place for people with a checkered past to find housing.

Good Neighbors

But, at least when it comes to one AHH house in Lawrence, the community has gone from fearful to welcoming. 

Melissa Stamer and her family live two doors down from an AHH house.

Though she and her neighbors were nervous when they learned that AHH would be locating a house in their neighborhood, they can’t imagine not having it now. 

“You can just see, it’s like they have their own community within the community, and they’re trying to be part of the community, and they want to be part of the community.”

Stamer said her kids frequently talk to the AHH residents. 

It’s even gotten to the point that she has told her children “go to (the AHH) house and tell them that you need help. Somebody there will help you.”

Haines Eason is the owner of startup media agency Freelance Kansas. He went into business for himself after a stint as a managing editor on the content marketing team at A Place for Mom. Among many other roles, he has worked as a communications professional at KU and as a journalist with work in places like The Guardian, Eater and KANSAS! Magazine. Learn about him and Freelance Kansas on LinkedIn and Facebook.