Community LINC children recognize the importance of reading.

As I wait for a Metro Bus, yellow school buses occupied by middle school aged students chug up and down Troost. Ninety degree mornings have passed to let seventy degree mornings descend upon our city - I welcome the change. The summer break is over, and kids who call Community LINC home have received their new clothes, shoes and haircuts. I recently asked some of the kids what they expected to gain from this school year. After some delay to answer, and some more prodding, the group I spoke to concluded that they thing they wanted to improve upon was reading.

I didn’t expect this answer; I figured the most important thing for kids would be to reconnect with friends or make new ones. After all, it was what I enjoyed most about returning to school as a youth. I am excited to know kids today embrace the importance of reading. Reading is the key that unlocks knowledge, and knowledge is power, as the saying goes. Being able to read gives a student the tool to become anything they desire in life. The skill of reading provides the ability to learn and improve. During one Thursday night class session at Community LINC, we had asked a group of kids to maintain a quiet atmosphere during the time allotted to eat the provided snack. I was happy to see that when one child finished eating, he chose to grab a book from the bookshelf and read while the others finished eating.

Kansas City’s population can be critical of the Kansas City Missouri School District, but it seems at least one aspect of education is being embraced by students: reading. As I thought about the conversation I had with the kids about reading, I could only think of one possible child, of reading age, who struggled with reading. This encompasses three years of volunteering at LINC. This is a very positive thing as reading and reading comprehension are vital for anyone to succeed and be self-sustainable.

A Teen's Perspective

Each month we evaluate success stories - what caused a family’s homelessness, the changes that were made to end their homelessness and the ultimate successes that followed - all from the parent’s perspective. This month, we decided to shift our focus just a bit to a teen’s perspective.

In a recent Teen Life Skills class, they were asked to give their definition of change. Here are some of their answers:


“Change means to start over. Make new. It makes your life better.”




”It means coming out of the old to the new.”




”When I think of change, my mother comes to mind.”




”It means to do something for a difference. I am getting good grades!!”




”It’s doing something that will take you out of your comfort zone. My mama is getting her life together and I used to have a I don’t care attitude about everything.”


”Change is something I hate and it sometimes makes me uncomfortable. I’m not ready to move and I think we should wait until we finish a whole year.”


”Change means that you don’t do anything that you use to, because you know you can do better and need to. When I think of change, what comes to mind is doing whatever it takes to stop doing the bad and achieve your goals.”


The concept of change can be daunting for anyone, but if our teens can grasp its impact then they have the primary tool necessary for breaking the cycle of generational poverty and living lives of self-sufficiency.