Help after prison or jail in Missouri
We've found 10 places in Missouri for people after prison or jail, mostly in Kansas City, St. Louis and Springfield, and 5 that serve the whole state. Our volunteers haven't confirmed these yet, so a quick call ahead is worth it. Most of them help with shelter & housing (5), food (4) and benefits & cash (3).
Places in Missouri
United Way 211 Missouri
Free information and referral line covering all of Missouri and Illinois. A specialist looks up shelter beds, food pantries, utility help, and treatment openings in a database of thousands of nonprofits and connects you by phone, text, or chat.
Reentry Services
Every Missouri state prison runs a reentry center where people nearing release work on housing, identification, benefits, medical coverage, and job placement, with partner agencies continuing support after release. The unit also brokers hiring fairs with employers willing to hire people with felony records.
Hope Faith
Kansas City's homeless day center, open weekday mornings to anyone with no restrictions. Guests get hot breakfast and lunch, showers, haircuts, and connections to housing and health partners on site.
Bureau of Vital Records
Issues certified Missouri birth and death certificates. You can order by mail or online, visit the Jefferson City lobby by appointment, or walk into one of 115 local public health offices around the state. Identification is required to receive a record.
Missouri Nondriver ID
A state nondriver identification card costs $24 and is good for up to six years; a nondriver ID issued for voting purposes is free. Apply at any Missouri license office with proof of identity, lawful status, Social Security number, and Missouri address.
Family Support Division Benefits (myDSS)
Apply for SNAP food benefits, MO HealthNet (Medicaid), Temporary Assistance, and child care subsidy in one place. Applications, document uploads, and status checks are online at myDSS.mo.gov; interviews are done by phone and a statewide information line answers questions.
Legal Services of Eastern Missouri
Free civil lawyers for low-income people in 21 eastern Missouri counties, including eviction defense, protective orders through the Lasting Solutions family law unit, public benefits appeals, consumer debt, and immigration. Interpreters are arranged if you ask on the first call.
Journey to New Life
Kansas City reentry organization with residences, peer support, career development, and case management for people coming home from prison. Walk-ins are taken four mornings a week at the Troost Avenue office.
Legal Aid of Western Missouri
Free civil legal help across 40 western Missouri counties from offices in Kansas City, Independence, St. Joseph, Joplin, and Warrensburg. Cases include protection orders, evictions, public benefits, municipal court defense, and immigration.
Victory Mission + Ministry
Springfield mission with an emergency shelter and transitional shelter for men, residential restoration programs for men and women, a WorkReady boot camp, and senior lunch. Case managers meet people first through the shelter or street outreach.
National lines that work in Missouri
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call or text 988 for any mental health or substance use crisis. Available to anyone in any program.
Lifeline free phone program
Free or discounted phone and service for people on Medicaid, SNAP, SSI, or low income. Apply online or through a carrier.