About Us

What We Do

The Kitchen provides emergency shelter, case management, housing assistance, and affordable housing for families, individuals, youth, seniors, and Veterans in Greene, Christian, and Webster counties. Read more about our approach to housing stability.

Mission

We bring stability and purpose to people who are homeless.

Vision

A community without homelessness

Values

Respect, Dignity, Quality, Service, Compassion

How It Started

In 1983, Sister Lorraine Biebel served a meal to the hungry on Palm Sunday, kickstarting the work of The Kitchen. Sr. Lorraine was a nun in the Order of St. Francis. She was originally trained as a nurse but was called to serve the poor as the need in Springfield became apparent. Under her direction, services quickly grew to include emergency shelter, case management, and housing assistance. Our focus today is housing stability—helping folks get back to and stay in permanent housing.

The Kitchen is guided by humanitarian beliefs, the inspiration of our founder Sister Lorraine Biebel, and Franciscan values of charity, benevolence, and selflessness. The Kitchen believes in the worth of each person and honors individual identity and self-determination.

Learn more about our history. 

Our Programs

Affordable Housing provides permanent housing to low-income renters in Springfield to prevent homelessness.
Community Housing provides case management and housing assistance for families, individuals, youth, and seniors who are homeless.
Emergency Shelter provides temporary shelter for families and individuals as they prepare to move into permanent, affordable housing.
Home At Last provides case management and housing assistance for Veterans and their families who are or at-risk of becoming homeless.
Rare Breed Youth Services provides immediate access to basic needs and rapid access to community services for homeless and at-risk youth ages 13-24.

Nationally Accredited

The Kitchen is accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA), an independent, nonprofit organization that partners with human service organizations worldwide to improve service delivery outcomes by developing, applying, and promoting appropriate best practice standards.

COA accreditation ensures that we are providing the very best possible services to our participants and is a mechanism that enables The Kitchen to continually improve and evaluate the way it delivers services. Achieving COA accreditation means The Kitchen is among the best in the field. We are proud to be a part of this community of excellence.

Board of Trustees

Kim Tilley, President
Mercy

Rob Fridge, Vice President

Eric Latimer, Secretary
Springfield Fire Department

Jen Albers, Treasurer
FORVIS

Ellen Hammock, Past President
CoxHealth

Katie Bolt-Goeke
Retired, Clinical Social Worker

Abby Glenn
Central Bank

Eileen R. Hamra
Fit Together, LLC

Darron Hemann
Wells Fargo Advisors

Dr. Katie Hoegeman
Missouri State University

Tonya King
Cosmetologist

Lauren Korbal
Cadence Bank

Diane Winter Reidle
Retired, Pharmaceutical Sales

Deborah Tuck
Guaranty Bank

Austin Williamson
Rooney McBride & Smith

Foundation Board

Diane Winter Reidle, President
Retired, Pharmaceutical Sales

Bill Hennessey, Treasurer
Mercy

Chase Banta
Embark Staffing

Erin Goodman
Red Crow Marketing, Inc.

Jen Johnmeyer
Alamo Drafthouse

Lauren Korbal
Cadence Bank

Sophie Pierpoint
Old Missouri Bank

Meleah Spencer
The Kitchen, Inc.

Deborah Stinnett
Ozark Technical Community College

Kerrie Van Sickle
O’Reilly Hospitality Management