Rebuilding a Village: How Healthy Homes Is Changing Lives in Kansas City

By Layne Stracener

When storms ripped through a Kansas City neighborhood in 2023—toppling trees, crushing cars, and trapping residents behind piles of debris—neighbors stepped outside to help each other. 

But when the emergency crews left, so did the support.  

The streets were littered with splintered wood and broken wires. Children were running barefoot through debris. And Denise Hart thought, we deserve better. 

Hart, now president of the Holmes Garden Neighborhood Association, remembers the moment she made her choice. 

“I called 311, and they asked if I belonged to a neighborhood association,” she said. “I said, ‘What’s that?’ And they told me I’d get help faster if I had one. That’s how it started.” 

Hart set out to create the kind of community she grew up in. 

“I want the village,” she said. “I grew up in a village back in my day here in Kansas City. We all went outside and played. We waved at everybody. If something happened to somebody across the street, we worked together to help with the situation.” 

She registered with the state and took every class she could find—neighborhood operations, leadership, policies, conflict resolution, community engagement, crime prevention and grant writing. She became a mandated reporter, a notary, and even performed weddings. She showed up to meetings across the city until people knew her by name. 

“Anything I could do to help my neighborhood,” she said. “I just like helping people.” 

But nothing prepared Hart for what she learned once she became more involved in her neighborhood. 

One resident, a mother of young children, had been living with black mold, a six-foot hole beneath the stairs and snakes coming up behind the refrigerator—for years. 

“She said, ‘I’ve just been dealing with it.’” Hart said. “I told her, ‘Baby girl, you don’t got to deal with that. We got to get you help.’” 

When Hart learned about Metropolitan Energy Center’s Healthy Homes program, she immediately set up an event for her neighbors. 

“They had tons of questions,” she said. “There was so much they didn’t know—about mold, insulation, air quality. And once they learned, they started checking their homes.” 

Residents replaced corroded faucets, cleaned vents for the first time, installed new showerheads, caulked drafty windows and secured doors that once let in winter air. 

“It’s the little things,” Hart said. “It makes the air cleaner. It makes the water safer. It saves money. Education takes you everywhere.” 

Energy efficiency and home health aren’t luxuries. They’re safety. Stability. And a chance for families—people who’ve never been told what to look for—to stay warmer and healthier. To save money. To breathe easier. 

“I wish I would’ve known about this a long time ago,” Hart said. “Do you know how much money I could have saved?  I could use that money toward enjoying life instead of paying high bills.” 

And she wants that for her neighbors, too. 

This Giving Tuesday, your support ensures families don’t have to “just deal with it.” Your gift provides home health education and energy efficiency kits filled with tools that reduce bills, improve air quality and help prevent dangerous conditions that too many families are quietly living with. 

A safe and healthy home gives families more than comfort—it gives them space to breathe, grow and build a stronger, more connected community—the village Hart is rebuilding, one home at a time. 

This Giving Tuesday, help bring healthier homes to more Kansas City families. Help keep the village strong. 

A gift today helps ensure more families get the tools, knowledge and support they need to make their homes safer and healthier. Make your Giving Tuesday donation here: metroenergy.org/healthy-homes-donate