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Amethyst Place
Amethyst Place is a long-term supportive housing program in Kansas City that transforms lives by empowering women in recovery and their children. Located at 28th and Troost, Amethyst Place serves families from across the Kansas City metro area, providing more than just housing—it offers hope, healing, and a fresh start.
Since 2000, Amethyst Place has worked to break the intergenerational cycles of poverty, substance use, and trauma. These cycles often go hand in hand, creating deeply entrenched challenges that affect families for generations. Amethyst Place addresses these issues through a holistic, evidence-based model that provides wraparound support tailored to the unique needs of each family.
Why Amethyst Place Exists
Most of the mothers entering the program are in early recovery from substance use and are simultaneously coping with co-occurring mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, or PTSD. The vast majority have experienced significant childhood trauma themselves. In 2023, the average Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) score among residents was nearly 7 on a 10-point scale, indicating a high level of early-life adversity.
Many of these women experienced out-of-home placements as children, with 78% having spent time in foster care or similar settings. All have a family history of substance use. Their children often face similar risks. Prior to arriving at Amethyst Place, 78% of families were separated, with children placed in foster care or living with relatives.
Amethyst Place exists to break these generational patterns by providing women and children with the resources, support, and stability they need to build healthy, resilient lives.
A Whole-Family Approach to Recovery
The cornerstone of Amethyst Place’s model is its whole-family approach. The program recognizes that supporting a mother in recovery is inseparable from supporting her children. That’s why the organization provides long-term housing alongside therapeutic, educational, and economic services for the entire family.
Residents live in one of 69 fully furnished apartments in a close-knit community designed to promote safety, connection, and healing. Families can remain in their homes as long as needed while participating in three core programs:
1. Supportive Housing Program – Offers stable housing and access to basic needs in a safe, welcoming environment.
2. Family Empowerment Program – Equips families with tools for long-term success, including education and job training, financial literacy, and health and wellness support.
3. Therapeutic Support Program – Helps mothers and children heal from trauma through on-site mental health care, parenting support, and youth resilience programs.
Children also participate in Youth Empowerment Programming (YEP!), which teaches social-emotional skills, builds self-esteem, and promotes positive peer relationships.
Measurable Impact
Amethyst Place has developed a three-tier model to track and support progress: Stabilization, Empowerment, and Sustainability.
- Stabilization (First 6 Months): Families are quickly stabilized with housing and intensive case management. In 2023, 100% of new residents received furnished apartments and personalized care plans within 30 days. Most children in foster care—about 80%—were reunified with their mothers within 60 days.
- Empowerment (Through Program Participation): Over the course of their stay, roughly 80% of women sustained their recovery, improved their self-sufficiency scores, and graduated from the program successfully.
- Sustainability (Post-Graduation): Graduates continued to sustain long-term recovery and achieve milestones in education and employment. Families left the program with the resources and stability to overcome generational poverty and lead healthy lives.
In 2023, 95% of women at Amethyst Place maintained recovery—far exceeding the national average of 40–60%. This high success rate represents not only personal triumphs but also significant cost savings for the community.
A Broader Community Impact
The ripple effects of Amethyst Place’s work extend far beyond the individual families it serves. The program addresses key community challenges including housing instability, foster care involvement, and the high public costs of untreated substance use.
- Affordable Housing Crisis: Kansas City currently lacks approximately 64,000 affordable rental units. Families with young children are especially vulnerable. Amethyst Place provides a direct solution by ensuring that women and children have access to safe, stable housing without a time limit.
- Financial Savings: According to national estimates, untreated substance use costs more than $43,000 per person annually—largely due to incarceration. In 2023, with 95% of residents maintaining sobriety, Amethyst Place saved an estimated $1.7 million in public costs.
- Foster Care Reunification: Foster care costs over $32,000 per child per year. By reuniting 13 children with their mothers in 2023, the program saved more than $425,000 in potential foster care expenses. In total, 96% of children who were in out-of-home placements were either reunified or actively working toward reunification.
These numbers demonstrate the efficiency and value of Amethyst Place’s model—not only as a compassionate intervention, but as a smart investment in long-term social impact.
Building Resilience in Children
Children at Amethyst Place have often endured significant trauma before arriving. Research shows that adverse childhood experiences can lead to lifelong negative health and developmental outcomes, including delays in cognitive and emotional growth. However, trauma is not destiny.
Amethyst Place helps children build resilience by providing a safe environment, consistent caregiving, therapeutic support, and opportunities for social connection. Through this support, children begin to experience what every child deserves: a stable home, nurturing relationships, and the freedom to grow and thrive.
Changing the Future, One Family at a Time
The work of Amethyst Place is rooted in a simple belief: when mothers are supported, children flourish. By investing in women’s recovery, mental health, and economic stability, the program helps entire families shift their life trajectories.
For over 24 years, Amethyst Place has helped hundreds of families reclaim their futures. Through compassionate care and unwavering commitment, it continues to be a place where healing happens, resilience grows, and cycles are broken—for good.