River of Refuge newsletter, April 2026

River of Refuge Braces for ‘Unnerving’ World Cup Impacts

River of Refuge is less than a mile away from Arrowhead Stadium, which is not a problem on most days, even when the Kansas City Chiefs are playing at home.

But it’s going to be a whole different ballgame when the stadium hosts World Cup soccer matches from June 16 to July 11. The event is expected to draw approximately 650,000 fans from around the world.

Thus, River of Refuge Executive Director Pam Seymour is worried that budget travellers will seek to camp and park on the expansive grounds surrounding its building.

She is also concerned that other fans seeking cheap accommodations will displace families living on the edge of homelessness, meaning River of Refuge will likely see an uptick in inquiries from families seeking emergency assistance rather than committing to work on River of Refuge’s strict program.

“We’re not a shelter,” she said, “so we’re not going to act like one.”

Seymour does not begrudge landlords or others looking to make money from the international soccer event.

“But I think we as human beings need to step back a little bit and think about the humanity and the dignity of those less fortunate, and what it’s doing to them,” she said. “And maybe the city should have looked at that before they invited 650,000 people to our town.”

River of Refuge’s initial inclination was to capitalize on its proximity to Arrowhead by charging for parking.

But, to Seymour’s surprise and frustration, the few security firms River of Refuge has talked with have not followed up with proposals to manage the parking and to shoo away would-be campers.

So it’s looking more like River of Refuge staff will have to do their best to keep people off the grounds.

Camping is a big concern.

“I look at the hygiene piece of it, the sanitary piece,” Seymour said.

“We’re not going to have dumpsters, we’re not going to have Porta Potties, and so, do I want people camped on our property, using the restroom (outside)? No. We have children who live here, go down to the park area, and look for guppies and things in the creek … and so it’s a bit unnerving.”

Seymour figures police will be too busy with other World Cup-related tasks to assist River of Refuge in running off trespassers. She also thinks River of Refuge will have to purchase signage indicating the grounds are off-limits.

Seymour hopes that government officials will shut down Raytown Road around River of Refuge, which would hopefully limit illegal parking on the grounds.

River of Refuge can place barriers at its entrances, but it must keep at least one driveway unobstructed in case of an emergency and keep the building accessible for families and staff.

Seymour said there’s still a little time to hope that River of Refuge can engage a security firm for a reasonable price. Otherwise, if something is not in place by the middle of next month, it looks like she will have to go with Plan B and rely on staff.

Seymour hopes Kansas City gets a solid return on investment from the World Cup and that it entices visitors to return.

But if some fans expect relaxed rules on popping a tent wherever they want, but get kicked off properties, she said, “That’s not going to go over very well. I don’t think they are going to want to come back.”

 

Busy Saturday Highlights Whirlwind Month-end at River of Refuge

The end of March brought a flurry of activity to River of Refuge, beginning with a Saturday at the end of the month, when a visit by some Nigerian Dwarf Goats was just one of the activities taking place in our central gathering room.

The goats came courtesy of a woman who raises them to sell as pets.

“They were really cute,” said River of Refuge Executive Director Pam Seymour, “and the kids got a big kick out of it.”

At the same time as the goat visit, Senior Case Manager Michelle Baker was hosting a group that was stuffing the “blessing bags” they distribute to homeless people as part of their street ministry.

Meanwhile, two high school students were at River of Refuge as part of a class project. They brought pizza to serve to our families.

Fast forward a couple of days, and River of Refuge hosted corporate trainer Sherry Prindle for a three-hour staff training on communication and leadership.

Seymour met Prindle while serving in a previous role with a local nonprofit.

One exercise Prindle conducted was assessing each employee’s character traits and separating them into four different personality types: the “get-along” person who seeks to minimize office drama; the “dreamer,” who wants to be involved in everything, but who struggles with completing tasks; the “get-it-done” no-nonsense worker; and the “get it done right” person who wants to take their time on a task.

Seymour said it is good to know the personality type of coworkers, so frustration does not boil over in cases where one worker might be upset with another.

“It helps people if they know a lot of times, it’s not on purpose, it’s who they are, right? she said.

“And if we had a whole office full of the same people, it would be a horrible environment. And so, you’ve got to have those different personalities, because they all have their strong points and they all have their weaknesses. And so that’s how we work as a finely tuned machine.”

And finally, Someone That Cares International Ministry gave its regular end-of-month community dinner an Easter theme.

 

FROM THE DIRECTOR

I usually reserve this space for updates about what is happening at River of Refuge, or to sometimes reflect on something in my personal life that has resonated with me professionally.

But I am deviating from that approach this month to highlight what I consider to be a ludicrous situation that exposes a significant gap in the housing continuum, adds pressure to an overburdened corrections system, and wastes taxpayer dollars.

Here’s the story:

Someone I know has been locked up for two years past his release date from a Kansas prison because staff can’t find a place for him to live. The problem is that he is a sex offender, and no landlord wants to touch that with a 10-foot pole.

But here’s the deal: The man is now in his mid-50s, his crime occurred decades ago, and his transgression was simply giving in to temptation with a permissive underage girl.

I don’t condone what he did; nor do I expect anyone else to.

But the fact of the matter is that the man served his time for the original crime. He is not very bright, and was returned to prison because he was around children. That was a parole violation.

This man is not a danger to society. He is not going to get out of prison and prey upon children.

But yet, there he sits in a Kansas prison because it seems no one wants to rent to a sex offender, no matter what the circumstances of the crime. For that matter, anyone who has a felony has problems finding housing and a lot of times a job.

So instead, he is taking up valuable space in the institution while Kansas taxpayers essentially cover his room and board.

Truthfully, he is living much better in prison than he ever would on the outside. Given his limited intelligence, he is practically unemployable. He would likely need some sort of public assistance or charity to live independently.

Sure this is only one case in one state. But my hunch is that this is not a problem limited to Kansas.

Indeed, a 2019 Yale Law Journal article pointed out just this very problem in New York state.

To me, this points up the need for specialized housing reserved for sex offenders.

This does not need to be public housing. With the right incentives and subsidies, private developers might be enticed to build such complexes.

It would be nice if landlords would dig a little deeper into individual cases before universally rejecting any sex offender. But, hey, they are private business people and they are free to rent to whomever they choose.

As executive director of River of Refuge, I work daily with folks who have struggled to keep a roof over their head.

We help them dig themselves out of debt and celebrate when they secure a place of their own. Too bad, the people working with the man I know have no cause for celebration.

Until Next Time,
Pamela Seymour, Executive Director