New campus will provide safe housing, treatment and community for youth traumatized by sex trafficking
“You can live four minutes without air; seven days without food; and three days without water, but you can’t live one second without hope,” proclaimed KAI Enterprises CEO Michael B. Kennedy at the recent groundbreaking for The Hope and Restoration Community Center’s new residential treatment facility in Jefferson County, MO.
The Hope and Restoration Community Center, a nonprofit that offers housing and treatment services to children who have experienced sex trafficking trauma, selected KAI to design and build its new 17,000-square-foot facility and campus. The new 10-bed center, located in Jefferson County, will be able to accommodate twice as many youth as the organization’s current location that opened in 2014.
“We’ve seen a lot of kids grow and heal and mend, and just flourish under the care of our staff because our job is to make sure that they are ready to live their lives and get the childhood that they had stolen from them,” said Dedee Lhamon, Founder and Executive Director of The Hope and Restoration Community Center. “This new facility is going to not only be a facility to house them, but it will be a place for them to call home. It can’t feel like an institution, and KAI has worked very hard to make that dream come true.”
Hope and healing for a brighter future is the driving force behind KAI’s design for the Level 3 youth residential facility. To create that home-like atmosphere desired by The Hope and Restoration Community Center, KAI’s designers incorporated finishes that create a farmhouse feeling, including pre-engineered wood siding and stone. Double-hung windows will allow in fresh air, and arched windows, typically found in residential designs, will brighten spaces with ample daylight. A large, welcoming front porch creates additional space for residents and staff to use.
The building will also serve as the new headquarters for the organization. Founded in 2009, the nonprofit organization provides services to youth across the St. Louis metropolitan area, including in St. Louis County, St. Louis City, St. Charles County, and Jefferson County in Missouri.
“Forty-five years ago, my father started KAI with the goal of transforming communities; not just the physical environment, but also transforming the lives of people who use those facilities,” said Kennedy at the groundbreaking event. “For many of KAI’s employees, this was a serious passion project. Everyone is bleeding for this project, and we are doing our best work; we love what you are doing for the youth, and you can believe we are all putting our hearts into it.”
