William Canseco, “Shorty,” works in the kitchen.

HART Ministries: Healing and Restoring Together

I’ve had no family until now. You are my family.”

These were the words of William Canseco, who recently faced a close encounter with death because of addiction to alcohol. William, known as Shorty, could not stop talking about what had happened after hearing a message at a Wednesday-evening worship service. His excitement radiated into the streets, and he began bringing others. Some were hungry. Some needed clothes. And some needed someone to talk to about getting help.

Following a witnessing workshop where Shorty shared his excitement about what was happening to him, he disappeared. We wondered if he had relapsed with his drinking problem or had been hurt. No matter the case, we would welcome back our friend.

HART Ministries, located in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, welcomes 40–60 people a day, three days a week. Peggy, community-resource specialist, counsels and refers individuals to the proper services 20 hours a week. This year, HART has served more than 7,000 meals and distributed more than 4,000 articles of clothing, blankets, and hygiene items. The staff continues to grow, with volunteers coming from as far away as Bates City, Missouri, 40 miles east.

Visitors to HART find many opportunities. Food, often contributed by volunteers or congregations, waits to be served. Supportive conversations are heard here and there. Handshakes and hugs are abundant. People are reminded to receive prayers in the Prayer Room.

One month after disappearing, Shorty returned.

“Where have you been?” a staff member asked.

“I just got out of the hospital,” he said, “Two days after I left church, I was cashing a check, and someone shot me in the back. The bullet came out my stomach.” He pulled up his shirt to show a long scar from the operation, where doctors worked frantically to save his life.

Shorty had been released from the hospital, back to the streets. He had been sleeping under a crosswalk connected to a church. Randall, a nurse, took Shorty to the crosswalk to find his medicine, but it had been stolen. Randall and Peggy worked that day to get him shelter at the Kansas City Rescue Mission with the reassurance of new bottles of medicine.

Shorty still is recovering from his wounds. And he’s still radiating the love of Christ to all. He asked to be baptized, and he joined Community of Christ, expanding his family into a global community.

HART Ministries has a vision for the future:

• To build a community that calls people of all walks of life to wholeness and
• To expand ministry to include specialized care of the body, mind and spirit.

To learn more about HART Ministries, go to www.hartministries.net.

—Paul Lucero, director, and Heather Atkinson,
co-director, reporting