COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Central Columbia’s Wilkes Boulevard Methodist Church will close next year, but a day center for homeless people will continue to operate out of the building. Church leadership wrote in a Facebook post over the weekend that the church itself will close next summer “after more than a century of ministry in Columbia.”
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Jefferson City’s Center of Hope is expanding its services to help better address homelessness in the city. The year-round homeless shelter– located on Jefferson Street– opened a new homeless resource center. The center now allows anyone to stop into the center and gain access to resources and support. “Our caseworkers want
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The City of Columbia agreed to amend its existing agreement with the transportation service First Last Mile to include the company in a pilot “ride home” program aimed at assisting members of the city’s homeless population. The city inked a deal with First Last Mile in January 2024, using a portion of
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia realtor is speaking out after finding people squatting in the homes she is trying to sell. Wendy Swetz, a longtime Columbia realtor, said she’s more squatting incidents over the past month and a half, and not in just one part of town. She says the issue is damaging homes, turning
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Progress is being made at the Voluntary Action Center’s Opportunity Campus site at Bowling Street and Business Loop 70 in Columbia. The $18.6 million site will house a resource center and a 125-bed shelter facility. After breaking ground in February 2024, the Opportunity Campus was planned to open this fall. It was
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Dozens of Columbia residents gathered at Fairview Community of Christ Church on Thursday evening to learn more about the city’s response to homelessness and housing challenges during a public presentation hosted by Ward 4 Councilman Nick Foster. Attendees included Public Health Planner Carter Stephenson, Housing and Neighborhood Services Director Leigh Kottwitz and Columbia
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Room At The Inn overnight homeless shelter in Columbia is extending its services by adding Saturday operations to fill service gaps in the community. Starting July 5th, the shelter will be open all day every Saturday to the homeless community. Executive Director at Room At The Inn John Trapp says the
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia City Council is looking into creating a new homeless transportation program following Monday night’s council meeting. The idea was posed by Ward 4 Councilman Nick Foster in March when he requested a report from the Department of Public Health and Human Services exploring a possible “ride home program.” Presented on
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) The Jefferson City Police Department will add a second community resource officer to enhance support for the city’s homeless population and bolster mental health outreach efforts. Jefferson City’s current community resource officer focuses on mental health outreach and connecting unhoused individuals with available resources. They also work to balance the needs
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) On Jan. 6, an anonymous tipster told the Missouri Department of Natural Resources about a growing homeless camp off of Interstate 70 Drive Southwest in west Columbia. The person said “garbage and debris” from the camp was getting into the nearby Harmony Creek. A staff member with the city’s stormwater division, TJ
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Missouri Department of Natural Resources official says work on Columbia’s stormwater operating permit is a time for the state and city to work together on handling complaints of trash buildup near waterways. DNR asked the city on Feb. 28 to come up with a more specific plan to address illegal dumping
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia Utilities says it will work with other agencies and track complaints regarding illegal camping and dumping near the city’s waterways. The department sent its updated plan to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources two weeks ago, said utilities department spokesman Jason West. The two-page updated portion of its application for a
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) The Jefferson City Task Force on homelessness discussed plan on Thursday to further resources in Mid-Missouri. The group was updated on what officials in Columbia are doing. One of the main focuses was making changes to Turning Point in Columbia, including a new contract for an overnight center and expanding the temperature
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Love Columbia’s transitional housing complex, Love Forward Homes, is expected to be complete early 2026. The complex at 1221 E. Ash St. in Downtown Columbia will have six three-bedroom units and four two-bedroom units that can house up to 10 families. Love Columbia says in 2024, it provided 4,144 hotel nights to
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The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has requested that the city of Columbia create a plan to minimize waste from homeless encampments from getting into public waters.
DNR sent a letter to the city, along with Boone County and the University of Missouri, on Feb. 28, 2025. It said it wants to see the issue addressed before it will renew their “Municipal Separate Storm System (MS4) Operating Permit Renewal.”
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The expected opening of the Voluntary Action Center’s Opportunity Campus has been pushed back to March 2026. As of December 2024, the Opportunity Campus was expected to open in fall 2025. On Monday, Voluntary Action Center director Ed Stansberry said the initial timeline was a “best guess” and that weather has caused
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia’s police officers are having more frequent encounters with homeless people — so many that the Columbia Police Department has a team dedicated to dealing with that part of the population. The number of calls for service and arrests involving homeless people jumped 38% in Columbia from 2023 to 2024, according to
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) On Friday, the U.S. Department of of Housing and Urban Development awarded the Columbia Housing Authority $537,433 to fight chronic homelessness in Boone County. “We are pleased with this,” CHA CEO Randy Cole said. “These funds are for special vouchers we use for persons experiencing chronic homelessness.” Cole said the vouchers come
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As temperatures continue to drop, the need for shelter increases. Resources here in Columbia are working to keep the homeless community safe through dangerously low temperatures.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A homeless encampment outside of the former Glik’s Boutique in Downtown Columbia drew the attention of authorities Friday. And shop owners say the camp is a problem for surrounding businesses. Management at El Fogon Veracruzano and Kent’s Floral Gallery told ABC 17 News the unwanted neighbors have affected hurt their business and
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