HELP center to lend helping hand

By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
April 13, 2011

Driving daily through Northeast to work, Michael Seward knew something was lacking.

It was hard to ignore the homeless on the street and the need for healthcare assistance.

Northeast needed resources.

When the opportunity arose to become the executive director of Northeast’s newly established HELP (Health, Education, Labor and Public Safety) organization, Seward didn’t hesitate to say, “yes.”

It was a dream fulfilled, he said.

Asked to explain the concept of HELP, Seward said, “We’re not trying to create services, but align with initiatives and link the community to resources. We will be a catalyst for improving health, education, labor and public safety.”

“Michael has already shown himself to be someone who cares for Northeast and our issues,” said City of Kansas City Council-Elect and interim chairman of HELP Scott Wagner. “He’s very organized and very much a cheerleader for this area. He’s established himself and created a lot of relationships already that will help him tremendously as he moves the HELP center forward.”

Seward grew up in Kansas City and lived in a home connected to a nursing home facility, Swope Ridge Geriatric Center, where his father served as executive director.

“Our house was literally connected to the nursing home, so all my friends and buddies growing up were 80 years and older,” Seward said. “One of the greatest memories was of my father developing an initiative where he commissioned an author and illustrator to develop a book and huge poster illustrations of great people, called ‘images of greatness.’”

The theme focused on individuals who accomplished their greatest works when they were older adults.

Through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, posters were distributed throughout the U.S.

“I remember as a kid we would have these black tie award ceremonies in the nursing home where we would bring these ‘great’ people in. I had the opportunity to meet Col. Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken and listen to him tell the residents that, ‘You’re never too old,’ and that he started Kentucky Fried Chicken with his first social security check.”

After graduating from the University of Missouri with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and psychology, Seward briefly worked in the Missouri governor’s office and later in Washington, D.C., for Sen. Jack Danforth.

Seward’s most recent employer was Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, where he helped develop the Health Policy Institute to address issues related to health care.

Now, he’s concentrating his time on HELP and establishing a physical HELP center at 2610 Independence Ave.

“For some people this effort won’t be real unless they see something physical,” Wagner said. “So, having an office, having it at Independence and Prospect where we have so many issues, I think says a lot in terms of how serious we are in moving this forward and how much we want to be connected to the community.”

To assist with establishing the center, Greater Kansas City Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC) has awarded HELP a $50,000 seed grant, along with in-kind technical and consulting assistance.

LISC is currently assisting HELP with a logo and helped the organization receive a $15,000 grant through Catholic Charities.

Asked if LISC will continue to support the center in the future, Executive Director of LISC Julie Porter said, “Absolutely.”

“We have a long-term commitment to the Northeast and the center. We’ll continue to support it to the degree we can, but we sure want some other organizations to get on board,” Porter said.

Organizations who have already joined HELP include Don Bosco, Mattie Rhodes, Northeast Chamber of Commerce, Kansas City, Missouri, Health Department, Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department and Newhouse.

HELP’s goal is to provide specific resources to Northeast residents regarding health, education, public safety and labor, Seward said.

To further that goal, HELP is designing “community resource guides” with a map to distribute in the area that list local services.

“We’re connecting residents to resources and information, so they can become strong, thriving and stable residents,” Seward said. “It will give them access to information, such as where can I get health care services that also provide transportation services for me if I’m Somalian, Sudanese, Vietnamese, Hispanic…”

Information will include the locations of free Internet hot spots, libraries, schools, medical care, parks, among others.

All information will be related to HELP’s acronym, he said.

Both Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City and Ramsey and Associate’s publishing company have offered to provide in-kind donations to print the resource guides.

For now, the guides will be printed in English and Spanish, but Seward hopes to later include other languages represented in Northeast.

HELP is also working on a website, which will connect visitors to community events and additional resources.

As far as the physical site, Seward’s goal is to have it operational by summer. He wants it to be resource center where neighborhood associations can host meetings and where residents can discuss crime and safety concerns and initiatives. HELP will also host meetings to address community concerns.

Eventually, Seward would like to have satellite organizations stationed in the center and be open during regular business hours. In the beginning, however, the center may be open by appointment only.

“We know this effort is bigger than all of us,” Seward said. “But, by coming together we can have some measurable results.

“That’s the beautiful thing about this initiative is all the community volunteers and outstanding organizations and agencies that are giving their time because they want to improve the quality of life for our Northeast residents, so that all residents can be thriving, engaged and stable in our ethnic rich community.”