Bethel Neighborhood Center opened its doors on April 11, 1911, as a community center of The Women's Baptist Home Mission Society. They primarily served needy families living near or working in the meat-packing plants of the West Bottoms of Kansas City. Many of them were new immigrants from Eastern European countries. Bethel has been located in the urban core of Kansas City, Kansas in the heart of one of the ten poorest counties in the nation per capita. This area has a high concentration for immigrant resettlement in the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area. Our neighborhood has gone through many changes over the last 111 years, but our mission remains the same. Over the decades, several waves of immigrants from Africa, South and Central America, and Asia have come to Kansas City, Kansas and Bethel Center has been supporting them in their assimilation to the American life and culture. Our mission is to empower individuals to achieve a renewed sense of hope, wellness, and self-sufficiency. The Center serves more than 10,000 people annually. In addition to after-school and summer programs for neighborhood children/youth, the Center offers a senior lunch program, a food pantry, ESL/Citizenship classes, healthy lifestyles classes, Christmas gifts, a community garden, sewing training, and provides advocacy services on behalf of the poor and the immigrants. With COVID, Bethel's role as a trusted advocate with the populations Bethel serves has become even more recognized and important. Bethel finds itself at the forefront of community efforts to combat this health crisis. The complexities of the pandemic and the way it has been communicated in the media has been especially challenging for those new to the US. Bethel has been called on even more by various health partners in the community to serve as a trusted advocate. Services are often available, but people don't know how to access the services or if they should access them. Bethel serves as an important bridge.
