Noise around poverty, homelessness, inequity, racial disparity, and housing issues abound. You can’t open Twitter or scroll through your Google Newsfeed without being fed some form of information. 

The problem lies in sifting through that noise and finding reliable information from people with firsthand knowledge about the topics you want to learn about and engage with. 

We do our best to put out timely reports and information on these topics through our email list and our blogs. But, these are big and complex topics and no one entity can cover it all. 

If you’re interested in educating yourself on the ins and outs of some of Kansas City’s most pressing social justice issues, here are the resources we suggest you follow!

Council Meetings and Elected Officials

The number one thing you can do to stay informed is to follow the conversation our elected government officials are having right in front of the public eye. If you can, attend local meetings. Or follow your elected officials on Twitter and Facebook to keep yourself informed on what they say when it comes to important issues.

Empower Missouri

Sarah Owsley is a data-extraordinaire here in Kansas City. She has a Masters in Social Work and is extremely active in grassroots organizations dealing with oppression and structural racism in our area. She publishes weekly commentaries that give data-driven information on the topics at hand. 

MO Speaks SW Podcast

A very close friend of the Greater Kansas City Homeless Coalition, Aaron Crossley, hosts this local podcast from the National Association of Social Workers. It explores the ins and outs of social work in Missouri without sparing any of the tough details. This podcast is just getting off the ground, but the podcasts available now are little golden nuggets of education. 

Built for Zero

Community Solutions is the nonprofit that leads the Built for Zero movement. Built for Zero equips cities with data-driven tools that help eliminate homelessness. This organization is so powerful and promising that The MacArthur Foundation awarded them $100 million to use in their mission. Follow their extremely helpful blog for educational resources and up to date news. 

National Alliance to End Homelessness

Keeping up on topics that affect housing and poverty issues can be daunting. A lot of necessary details are buried in policy documents and surrounded by jargon that does not make sense to the average person who does not work in our industry. The National Alliance to End Homelessness streamlines and simplifies information for people who want to stay up to date. 

United States Interagency Council on Homelessness

If you’re working as a volunteer, caseworker, or are otherwise engaged with people experiencing homelessness, follow the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness’ blog. They post frequent snippets of news that are extremely relevant to the work we’re doing. 

Google News

Sometimes, following a topic takes some due diligence. Wading through headlines on your Google News feed may be daunting, but if you follow “Kansas City” as a location and then set your filters or choose topics for “housing,” “law enforcement,” and “local government,” you will start to see regular coverage about what’s happening locally. 

Disclaimer: While we are grateful for local media coverage on these topics, please understand, what you see reported by local journalists is often only a portion of the story. Please take time to dig into news coverage, ask questions, and research through the other outlets mentioned above.

If you ever have questions regarding a topic in the news, please reach out to us. We’d love to share our expertise with you!