Up To Date

As Kansas City Prepares To Close Warming Shelter, Homeless Community Wonders What's Next

By Steve Kraske,

Published March 4, 2021 at 4:01 AM CST

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A woman sits with her belongings a City Market Park (Dec. 18, 2020) — When the temporary downtown Scott Eike Warming Center at Bartle Hall closes March 13, hundreds of Kansas City homeless will be left with no escape from cold nighttime temperatures.

Why finding a better response to the plight of Kansas City's homeless is so difficult.

The temporary warming center at Bartle Hall has been providing overnight shelter to Kansas City's homeless population during the recent arctic blast. Now that it is closing, the city is still no closer to a long-term solution for sheltering its homeless.

Mindy Boyd, donations clerk at Bartle Hall
Eric Berger, executive director of Shelter KC

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Up To Date homelessness Bartle Hall poverty Housing Up to Date Podcast Kansas City Missouri (KCMO)

Steve Kraske

When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.

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Reginald David

As an assistant producer on Up To Date, my goal is to amplify voices of people who serve as pioneers in their respective fields while shedding light on issues that affect underserved communities. I produce daily conversations to uplift and inspire the people of the Kansas City area to make the world a better place. You can reach me at reginalddavid@kcur.org.

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Zach Wilson

As Up To Date’s senior producer, I construct daily conversations that give our listeners context to the issues of our time. I strive to provide a platform that holds those in power accountable, while also spotlighting the voices of Kansas City’s creatives and visionaries that may otherwise go unheard. Email me at zach@kcur.org.

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