The 38th Street Task Force is made up of businesses, neighborhoods, and residents working to understand and address problems with loitering, lack of housing, and drug activity in Midtown. It is a joint effort of the Valentine Neighborhood Association and Old Hyde Park Historic District.
The 38th Street reference is in our name because we initially organized around litter and loitering problems along 38th Street from Southwest Trafficway to Main. However, we address issues in the entirety of both neighborhoods and also work with other neighborhoods, MidtownKC Now, the police, and city departments on hot spots, ongoing issues, and public policy.
The task force meets monthly on the second Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. At this meeting, we discuss current issues facing the neighborhoods,
If you cannot attend but would like to receive updates on the results of the meeting and plans for the future, please contact 38thstreettaskforce@gmail.com.
38th Street Task Force: Special Meeting Jan. 14, 5:30 p.m.
Even if you don’t normally make it to our meetings, you are on our mailing list because you have asked to be included or have attended one of our meetings or events. We have two important discussions on this week’s agenda and hope you will make an extra effort to join us. We will be considering how neighborhoods and organizations serving the homeless could work together. We will also move forward with our new initiative to track changes in quality-of-life issues through our efforts.
The Task Force is made up of businesses, neighborhoods, and residents working to understand and address problems with loitering, lack of housing and drug activity in Midtown.
1. How could we help to solve the problems of chronic homelessness? One of our long-time members, Barry Heiman, will be joined by Simon Messmer, chairman of the Greater Kansas City Coalition Against Homelessness, and architect Jack Rees. They believe there is a solution to chronic homelessness: for mental health organizations and neighborhoods to work together. They suggest these two groups could create what they are calling a “Good Neighbor Agreement”, which would establish baseline rules and behaviors for housing the homeless in KC neighborhoods. They are hoping that this meeting will be the first dialogue in this effort.
2. Priorities for measuring improvement: At the December meeting, we developed a new strategy for our work. We will create a baseline report on quality-of-life conditions along 38th Street (from Main to SW Trafficway) and track whether our efforts have any impact over the coming year.
Oct. 30, 2025: Safety and Security Community Meeting: With the opening of the streetcar along Main Street this month, more Midtown residents will be walking in our neighborhoods, and new people may be visiting for the first time. This provides a perfect opportunity to discuss the safety and the perception of safety of Midtown neighborhoods. While we often focus on violent crime in the area, neighborhoods also have concerns about drug activity, areas where groups of people persistently loiter, and other quality of life issues that may impact our residents.
