Sheffield Place is a nonprofit treatment and transitional living program on E. 12th Street in Kansas City, Missouri.  For more than 20 years, homeless mothers and their children have found shelter and the supportive services they need to heal from their trauma and become self-sufficient.

Up to 50 families (fourteen homeless mothers and their children at any one time) call Sheffield Place home each year. They may stay for up to two years.  

A typical family at Sheffield Place is headed by a 22-year old mother who left school before graduating and has few employment skills.  The family depends on Temporary Aid for Needy Families and Medicaid or MC+.  The average mother has two children under five years of age.  In all, 44% of mothers are African American, 40% are Caucasian, 16% are multi-racial/ethnic, and 5% are Hispanic/Latina.  All of the mothers have a mental health diagnosis, most commonly depression, anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and bi-polar disorder.  66% of the mothers have a dual diagnosis of addiction, 77% are survivors of domestic violence, and 25% grew up in foster care.  These mothers have suffered a life-time of severe, chronic, and continuous trauma that affects their mental and physical health. 

Home at Sheffield Place is a two-room living unit with a private bathroom. Four or five families share a kitchen, dining room, and laundry room on the three residential floors.

To prepare families for self-sufficiency and the challenges of managing a home, families practice life skills.  The mothers care for their own living unit and take responsibility for cleaning shared living spaces. With guidance, they learn to prepare healthy food on a tight budget and to resolve conflict in a positive manner. Financial education helps each woman resolve debt and place money in a savings account to begin preparing for the time when she leaves Sheffield Place.