The Kitchen, Inc.

The Kitchen, Inc. brings stability and purpose to people who are homeless.

Since 1983, The Kitchen, Inc. has provided services to homeless individuals and families in Springfield and the surrounding communities. Our founder, Sister Lorraine Biebel began the work of The Kitchen, serving a single meal to the hungry on Palm Sunday.

As our community of nonprofits grew, we adapted our services and focused on what we do best: housing. Helping people get back into permanent housing is the first step towards long-term stability. Once housed, clients work with our case managers to connect with vital community resources, overcome the barriers that led to their homelessness, and create plans to remain stably housed.

There is no one face of homelessness in our community, and The Kitchen, Inc. has programs to make sure homelessness is rare, brief and nonrecurring for each of our clients.
• Home at Last serves Veterans and their families who are homeless or at-risk of experiencing homelessness.
• The Community Housing program works with local landlords to provide housing opportunities for families, individuals, youth, and seniors experiencing homelessness.
• Rare Breed Youth Services focuses on the needs of at-risk and homeless youth ages 13-24 years old.
• The Emergency Shelter provides a safe place for individuals and families to stay before they can move into permanent housing.
• Affordable Housing Developments offer 298 affordable units in the Springfield area. Our developments include Franciscan Villa, Beacon Village, McClernon Villas and Maplewood Villas.

Our vision is “a community without homelessness.” Maintaining our focus has been possible thanks to community support, collaboration with community organizations that share our vision, dedicated teamwork among staff, and creative and flexible thinking to successfully maneuver the obstacles that arise to help people exit homelessness.