RaisingKC – Safe, stable, nurturing relationships save lives.

The local artists of Ampersand Design Studio have come together with Tia Curtis Quilts to create this iconic RaisingKC Quilt depicting the moments and people who help create our Safe, Stable and Nurturing community.

We are RaisingKC!

WE ARE INSPIRED BY THIS CALL TO ACTION to begin this groundbreaking, historic public health campaign focused on the #1 way to prevent toxic stress in children: a safe, stable, nurturing relationship between an adult and a child.

Why is that important? Because toxic stress is a root cause of so many urgent mental, behavioral and medical health crises of our time—a root cause of violence, bullying, drug addiction, anxiety, depression, suicide, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and more.

It’s all here: resources, tools, podcasts, advice, research, organizations and more!

Endorsed by the Community Mental Health Fund as a “Public Health Campaign for Children’s Mental Health”

Thanks to Fox4 and AdventHealth Kansas City for your support!

We're here to help you build safe, stable and nurturing relationships (SSNRs) between you and a child with joyful, everyday advice and new community programs. Let's start now!

The RaisingKC Quilt shines a light on the organizations that are helping everyone build safe, stable, nurturing relationships...

150 Leaders Unite

Our heartfelt thanks to Johnson County Community College for kicking off our bi-state campaign. Local leaders in mental, physical and behavioral health, media, business, research, government, the arts, education and social services have answered the call to action.

35 Years of SSNRs

Synergy Services hosted the 35th Anniversary Kindest Kansas Citian Awards on Friday, April 25th. Nearly one half-million adults and children have participated in the essay contest since its inception in 1990. In their own words and pictures, students tell us how their SSNRs have saved their lives.

Early Childhood Focus

From Union Station, the RaisingKC Quilt traveled to the B.E. Smith Family Center at AdventHealth Shawnee Mission during the Week of the Young Child. Families and educators recognized the importance of SSNRs during the early childhood years.

What are Safe, Stable, Nurturing Relationships?

And how do they save lives?

It all begins with children’s brain development, which is most rapid in the ages of one to three. So how do early childhood experiences influence or actually alter that brain development?

Why RaisingKC?

“The #1 way to reduce the risk of lifelong mental, physical and behavioral health problems– bullying, depression, anxiety, abuse, drug addiction, obesity, heart disease, suicide, cancer, and more– is a safe, stable, nurturing relationship between an adult and a child.”

— The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine

Connect with a child

What do child healthcare leaders in our community do every day to connect with kids? We asked them, and they shared their ideas here that will make you smile. Click on each Connection below to read them and hear their podcast interviews. Learn how to make healthy connections with children, the kind that can prevent medical, behavior and learning problems for a lifetime.

LISTENING

Discover how listening helps build safe, stable nurturing relationships. Read more...

Learning

How does learning help an adult connect with a child? Read more...

LAUGHING

Connecting through imagination, dreams, ideas and laughing help. Read more...

Looking

When a child feels “seen”, this teaches how to look at problems as solvable. Read more...

Loving

Loving looks different for each child. Read more...

Use Behavior Checker®

This evidence-based, online tool helps you respond in healthy ways to more than 150 children’s common, every-day behavior challenges of toddlers to teens. Each response helps you build a safe, stable, nurturing relationship.

Search all behaviors to get simple, trusted teaching strategies that lower everyone's stress. Growing up has its ups and downs—every child and parent will experience frustration, fear, disappointment, anger and worry.

Who's helping all of us raise KC?

Below you’ll find organizations with services to lower your stress and build safe, stable, nurturing relationships between adults and children. Click on those that meet your needs to learn more. Or click on the blue bar to do a search of services, location and contact information.

AdventHealth ParentCare supports the mission of RaisingKC! We recognizes that every adult caregiver and every child is unique. With ParentCare, families receive personalized Coaching, Advice, Resources and Education. This makes raising children a less stressful and more joyful journey that's mentally, physically and emotionally more rewarding
Services: Behavior Checker®, Behavioral and Mental Health, Childbirth and Parent Education Programs, Fitness and Wellness Classes, Lactation Consulting and Warm Line, Maternity Navigators, Parent Coaching, Pediatric Primary Care, Perinatal Bereavement Support, Postpartum Emotional Support, Resources and Referrals, Special Needs Education and Therapies through Britain Development, Support Groups, Women's Health

Services: Behavior, Communication, Home Improvement, Home visits, Maternal Mental Health Support, Parent and Family Education, Parent Empowerment Programs, Therapy Referrals, Youth development programs

Services: College and Career Readiness, Entrepreneurship, Health and Wellness, Social Justice and the Law

Services: Behavioral Health Crisis, Counseling families with young children, Crisis Line, Domestic Violence Assistance, Educational resources, Family Communication, Mental Health, Parent Education Programs, Parent Empowerment Programs, Parenting, Resilience Training, School Based Services, Substance Use Disorder, Suicide Prevention, Support Groups, Teen Support Programs, Therapy

Services: Youth Mentoring Organization

Services: Behavior Checker®, Diabetic Management Programs, Faith in Wellness Programs, Family Health Programs, Infant Mortality Prevention, Parent Empowerment Programs, Wellness Classes

We are excited to be part of Raising KC because it is exactly what we do! Our home visitors are on the floors of families all around the community providing education and resource to help parents "Raise KC". We provide screenings around development and social emotional development, health, hearing and vision as well as help parents build connection with their children that will be the foundation of their learning.
Services: Connection through home visits, Developmental screenings, Free Parent Support through local school districts, Group connections, Open to all families with children prenatal to age 3, Research-based information

Services: We are a Funder supporting agencies in Jackson County Missouri that serve people without the ability to pay for mental health services.

Services: Behavioral Intervention Support Team (BIST), Build Trybe Workforce Development, Continuing Education and Training, Day Treatment Schools, Family Preservation, Foster Care Case Management, Foster Parent Licensing, Functional Family Therapy, Intensive Family Reunification Services, Intensive In-home Services, Outpatient Counseling, Pathways Transitional Living, Youth Educational Success

Services: Behavior, Behavior Checker®, Early childhood learning, Education and Support Groups, Educational resources, Family Activities, Family Communication, Head Start, Home visits, Kindergarten preparation program, Mental Health, Mental Health Counceling, Nutriton Programs, Parent Education Programs, Parenting

Services: Behavior, Behavior Checker®, Behavioral Health Crisis, Counseling families with young children, Counseling Teens, Domestic Violence Assistance, Elderly Care Management, Family Communication, Food Pantry, Housing, Mental Health, Parent Education Programs, Parent Empowerment Programs, Parenting, Suicide Prevention, Support Groups, Therapy

Services: 6 by 6 Books to Go kits, Conference and study rooms, Homework Help, Intergenerational Civic Engagement & Election Programs, Literacy Guidance, Storytime, Summer Reading Events, Table Top Games, Teen Literary Arts Magazine--elementia, Walk and Reads, Workshops for Mothers of Preschoolers

Services: Behavior, Counseling families with young children, Domestic Violence Assistance, Family Communication, Family Health Programs, Hotline, Mental Health, Parent Education Programs, Parent Empowerment Programs, Parenting, Suicide Prevention, Support Groups, Therapy

Services: Books to Go, Dial-A-Story Phone Line, Educational resources, Family Activities, Homework Resources, Interactive Storybooks, Recommended Reading, Services for Educators

Services: Bilingual Services, Early Literacy Programs and Resources, Educational resources, Family Education Programs, Family Events, Homeschool and Homework Resources, Interactive Storybooks, Lifelong Literacy Programs and Resources, Print and Digital Collections for All Ages, Recommended Reading, Services for Educators

Services: Behavior, Domestic Violence Therapy and Service Coordination, Education and Support Groups, LGBTQ+ youth gorup, Mental Health Counceling, School Based Services, Soccer for Success, Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment, Support Groups, Therapy for all ages, Young Adult Supportive Living (Visionaries), Youth after-school Art Programs, Youth development programs

Mission Statement Mid-Continent Public Library’s mission is to enrich our citizens and communities through expanding access to innovation, information, ideas, and inspiration. Vision Statement Mid-Continent Public Library will provide the best library experience in North America. Who We Are Mid-Continent Public Library is a consolidated library district and tax-supported political subdivision that serves nearly 800,000 people in the greater Kansas City metro area. The Library is governed by a 12-member Board of Trustees, which includes four representatives from each of the three counties in its district—Clay, Jackson, and Platte. For over 50 years, MCPL has been striving to provide customers with the best possible library experience.
Services: Book Groups, Children's Computers, Education Resources for Caregivers, Free Family Activities, Homework Help Resources, Online Tutoring, Readers Advisory and Custom Reading Recommendations, Reading Programs for All Ages, Reservable Meeting Rooms, Resources for Homeschoolers and Educators, Storytimes and Early Literacy Programs, Student Library Cards, Test Prep Resources, Wellness Rooms, Wi-Fi and Chromebooks To Go

Services: Behavior, Home visits, Parenting, Screening

Services: Educational resources, Parent Education Programs, Parent Empowerment Programs, Parenting, Resilience Training

Services: AARP Tax Help, Adult Book Recommendations, Ask a Librarian, Book Club Resources, Book Lists, Cafe, Computers & Printing, Curbside Pickup, Interlibrary Loan, Library to You Deliveries, Makerspace, Meeting Rooms & Event Rentals, Mobile Hotspots, Mobility Scooters, Notary Service, Personalized Reading Lists for Adults, Recording Studio, Remote Holds Pickup Lockers, Storytime and Circle Time, Teen Gaming Room, Themed Kits for Kids

Services: Before and After School Programs, Early childhood learning, Health Services, Immunizations, Meals, Parent Education Programs, Personalized Learning, Therapy

Services: Behavioral Health Crisis, Crisis Line, Emergency Shelter, Home visits, Mental Health, Parent Education Programs, Screening, Substance Use Disorder, Suicide Prevention, Support Groups, Teen Support Programs, Therapy

Services: Early childhood learning, Home visits, Parent Education Programs, Screening

Services: Behavior, Behavior Checker®, Educational resources, Family Communication, Mental Health, Parent Education Programs, Parenting, Public Health, Suicide Prevention

Services: collaborations, community/workplace campaigns, Parent/Caregiver Resources, Self-care and resilience resources, webinars, workshops

Services: Behavior, Behavioral Health Crisis, Counseling Teens, Screening, Teen Support Programs

Services: Parent Guides, Parent Night KIt, Plugged-in Planner book series, Screen Sanity Group Study, Smartphone Toolkit, Social Media Playbook, Videogame Decision Tree

Services: Kindness Baskets for those in need of a good deed, Mentoring philanthropy and skill development through our Kindness Youth Leadership Team, Offering our Kindness Action Scholarship competition for KC area high school seniors as well as awards and recognition of our SevenDays Art Competition, Providing guest speakers on the topic of SevenDays kindness themes, Resources for schools to start a Kindness Club and/or host a Kindness Walk

Services: Early learning book kits, Learning activities, Music videos, Songs

Services: Behavior Checker®, Counseling families with young children, Domestic Violence Assistance, Hotline, Housing, Mental Health, Parent Education Programs, Pediatric Primary Care, Resilience Training, Safe Place, Street Outreach, Suicide Prevention, Support Groups, Teens and Tots Clinic, Temporary Housing

Services: Assessment & Screenings, Counseling Center, Day Treatment, Family Support, Training

Services: We provide mental health services to help children and adults develop resilience, We provide resources, referrals, and education that empower children and families to address their immediate needs, We provide training and coaching to support educators and expand the capacity of the early education workforce

Services: Behavior Checker®, Educational resources, Kindergarten preparation program, Parent Education Programs, Pop-up activities, Weekday programs

Services: Digital Journalism, Internship Programs, Media, Professinal Communication, Strategic Communication

Services: City Stage Live Theatre, Disney100: The Exhibition, Planetarium, Regnier Movie Theatre, Science City, Shopping & Restaurants

At University Health our Behavior Health Services are an important part of the RaisingKC Community. University Health (UH) Behavioral Health offers a wide array of services to help children and teens thrive. Our team of youth behavioral health specialists works with clients at our clinics, in schools and even in their homes.
Services: Behavior, Mental Health, Parent Education Programs, Parenting, Screening, Substance Use Disorder, Therapy

Services: Behavior, Behavior Checker®, Lactation Consulting, Nutriton Programs, Parent Education Programs, Parenting, Pediatric Primary Care, Reach out and Read, Screening