Kansas City Public Library: Community Partnerships Fuel Relationship With Housing Authority

Kansas City MO

15 April, 2022

12:28 PM

Description

Press release from the Kansas City Public Library: April 12, 2022 In spring of 2020, the Kansas City Public Library had just closed our 10 locations for an unknown length of time when we received our shipment of materials for the Book Rich Environment initiative, which brings books and other literacy tools to children and their families who live in HUD-assisted housing. At that point, the idea that 2020 would be a turning point in our relationship with the Housing Authority of Kansas City (HAKC) felt unlikely. Communication with partners initially ground to a halt as we struggled to make sense of the changes in our world and reimagine how we would maintain contact with our public housing communities during a global pandemic. However, the relationship we went on to build with families in public housing now is the strongest we've ever had thanks to overlapping community partnerships, strong connections with HAKC caseworkers and opportunities to grow pilot programs into sustainable services. PANDEMIC BRINGS INNOVATION With our branches and HAKC community buildings closed, we approached partnership development by building layered relationships with the many exceptional organizations already serving families in our public housing communities. These partners range from institutions like schools and parks to social service providers like the Westside Community Action Network Center and Urban Community Connections. They include the Boys & Girls Clubs, Big Brothers Big Sisters and other after school and mentoring programs; healthcare providers; and even sports programs. Particularly in the early days of the pandemic, our collaboration centered on essential services – like distributing books in conjunction with door-to-door meal delivery at public housing communities – and tabling at drive-thru events. And like many libraries, we looked to our city's outdoor spaces as we reimagined our Summer Reading Program. This led to the development of Pop In at the Park, with pop-up booths in 14 neighborhood parks — prioritizing locations close to public housing communities — to provide Summer Reading Program activities with safe social distancing. Since then, this program has grown to include such partners as Kansas City Public Schools and Harvesters (our local food bank) and incorporate additional Library departments and services (e.g., voter registration). And it has become a sustained component of our Summer Reading Program. This press release was produced by the Kansas City Public Library. The views expressed here are the author's own.