Artists Helping the Homeless Making a Difference for Thousands in Kansas City

Kar Woo came to the United States from Hong Kong as a teenager to attend college in Iowa.

He had $50 in his pocket and little idea of what to expect once he arrived. Woo didn’t speak much English, and “I was scared,” he recalls now.

Woo, who turned 19 on that transcontinental plane ride, “cried all the way.”

So Woo, an artist and former gallery owner, knows how it feels to be disconnected from the people around you, confused, and unsure of where to turn or what to do.

Those feelings led him to begin helping homeless people in Kansas City more than a decade ago. He started out giving rides, getting people from the hospital to the homeless shelter, giving them food or a blanket, or letting them spend a night in his gallery.

“The beauty of that is, they were trapped with me,” Woo said with a laugh. “They had to ride in the car with me for 20 or 30 minutes. I had the opportunity to listen, so during those trips back and forth, I got to listen to what their challenges are, what is missing in the service provider link.”

He discovered that while the service providers were “wonderful” and well-intentioned, they couldn’t meet all of the needs of Kansas City’s homeless population, so Woo sought to find ways to fill in the gaps.

Before long, Woo closed his gallery to devote all of his time to the work, founding the organization Artists Helping the Homeless. According to a running tally on the AHH.org website, the group has provided more than 320,000 meals and driven clients more than 21 million miles.

The first big step came when one of the hospitals began providing vans to help transport clients. Partnerships with businesses along with health and social service providers have grown exponentially from there.

Over the years, AHH has caught the attention of foundations and grant-awarding organizations, and it has won numerous awards for its work.

The group works predominantly with younger homeless people, from late teens to early 40s, people who may still be able to build a career and save up enough money to buy a home someday. In fact, Woo proudly tells the stories of young people who’ve been through the program, finished their education, and are living healthy, stable, sober lives.

AHH also helps older individuals who may need assistance with getting Medicaid or Social Security disability payments but who aren’t looking to make the same kinds of life changes as a 20-something who is new to living on the street.

Woo says that the group helps about 2,000 people per year – with 200 per year being housed in AHH facilities -- but he stresses that the group isn’t a homeless shelter, even though shelters are necessary in Kansas City. It’s not about making a difference for a few days or a week or a month.

“We give them a place to stay so they can have the opportunity to slow down, reflect, and do planning, so they are not stressing on the street about what they want to do,” Woo said.

Clients have a place to stay, medical care, food, and if they are on probation or under court supervision, AHH assists them with that as well.

“We want to help them thrive,” Woo said.

AHH has an 80 to 90% success rate, gauged by the number of clients who stay off the streets and out of hospitals or treatment centers. They encourage clients to go back to school, and not just because of the possibility of better job prospects.

“Education is discipline, it’s deferred gratification,” he said, adding that it helps clients learn how to plan for their future rather than spending money as soon as it comes into their hands.

In the past year alone, three AHH clients have purchased homes.

“I want them to have long-term success, not short-term gain,” Woo said.

Woo’s plans have changed drastically since he hopped on that plane from Hong Kong all those years ago. He rarely has time to create art these days, but that’s OK.

He’s helping people paint a vision for their future, and then watching that vision emerge from the ether and become reality.