Sojourner Services

Lazarus Boutique

Lazarus Boutique continues the mission of Lazarus Ministries to clothe those in need. The Boutique is open Saturday‘s in conjunction with meal service to provide clothing and personal hygiene items to anyone in need.

Volunteers sort and size donations and restock the boutique weekly. We accept donations of travel size hygiene items, which are easier for our sojourners to pack when all they own is carried with them. Volunteers also serve as a “Personal Shopper” to assist in selecting sizes and fulfilling all needs of the Sojourner. With a personal shopper, we can ensure each individual receives what they need and gets the correct sizes, but it also provides a sense of dignity to have a volunteer’s undivided attention for even just a few moments.

Download the Boutique Needs List

Lazarus Table

Lazarus’ Table serves approximately 29,000 meals each year through various programs. A commercial kitchen, operates weekly to feed approximately 350 Sojourners by providing lunch on Saturday’s and breakfast and lunch on Sunday’s for Kansas City’s homeless and hungry.Volunteers serve meals buffet style and provide the staff with much needed assistance. Nothing is asked of an individual seeking food, our goal is only to provide food to the hungry. This may come in the form of a man who has been homeless for many years due to mental illness or a mother with two children and nowhere else to go.

While we realize food only resolves one of the many basic human needs our Sojourners are lacking; It is our goal to continue serving those who need a hot meal in downtown Kansas City as long as we are needed thanks to generous gifts from our supporters. We seek to provide a place where the Sojourners initially come for a meal, but ultimately find a sense of community. Within this community we hope to develop relationships with all individuals; those who want nothing but for someone to know them by name, but also to connect with those individuals who have potential to change this situation and help them take steps to get out of poverty by working with our social work staff.

Sojourner Health Clinic

The Sojourner Health Clinic is a free clinic developed and managed by UMKC Medical Students, which provides outpatient care to the homeless and underprivileged population served at Grand Avenue Temple. On Sunday afternoons, the students, with faculty supervision, provide acute and chronic medical care to the Sojourners of downtown Kansas City, many of whom also are served a free hot lunch at through Lazarus Table. The clinic’s many services include: blood pressure monitoring, blood sugar testing, a dispensary for medications, and an on-site physician to see patients.

The clinic opened in 2004, since that time there have been over 1,000 patient visits and more than 2,400 prescriptions filled. The Sojourner Health Clinic has become the primary care provider for many of downtown Kansas City’s homeless. Faculty physicians and resident physicians from Truman Medical Center East, Truman Medical Center West and St. Luke’s Hospital are involved to supervise and support the students’ efforts.

For More information on the Sojourner Clinic visit www.studo.umkc.edu/sojournerhealthclinic

Women’s Shelter

Shelter is a basic need for human life that many individuals in Kansas City live without. The Lazarus’ Women’s Shelter is an overnight shelter for women only, open from December 1^st – April 1^st each year. Open exclusively during the coldest months of the year when area shelters are on overflow because there aren’t enough beds in the city.

Volunteers prepare and serve meals each night; women are given a hot meal, a bed with clean bedding and pajamas, a hot shower, and most importantly a second chance and sense of community. During the 2011-2012 season we provided over 1,800 bed nights and as many meals to homeless women. Some nights we were overflowing with over 20 women and make-shift beds because we ran out of cots, but on average we provided shelter for 16 women each night. We choose to keep our numbers small because we want to make an impact and help affect lives. Our goal is to serve women who are interested in making change, we want to maintain a focus of community and rebuilding lives.

Drop-In Center

The Weekday Drop-In Center has historically been open from 11AM – 1PM Weekdays and is managed by a Sojourner who was formerly homeless. We have closed this program for the summer to evaluate and restructure it’s design. We open the doors to the public and provide the opportunity to use the phone, toilet or even rest in a pew. When we have food, we provide it for anyone who is hungry and we always have coffee available. Our goal is to provide basic resources as well as a quite place to seek solitude and a moment’s peace from the outside world.