Restoration House
Sep 28, 2018
Rodney Hammer and Steven Robinson
Restoration House

Restoration House, a faith-based, long-term residential recovery program for sex trafficking survivors in Kansas City, has big dreams to reach a new sector of trafficking victims: minors.  It is estimated that each year 1,650 kids in the Greater Kansas City Metro Area are victims of sexual exploitation.  This staggering reality comes from The Renewal Forum, a non-profit agency who participates in policy, research, and advocacy to promote respect for human dignity on the issues of commercial sexual exploitation. 

The Department of Justice commissioned a study to determine the risk of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking (DMST). The findings indicated that often key cities studied in the US, the Kansas City Metro area was number two in terms of risk for DMST. Sadly, most of these children are never properly identified or helped and they enter adult life as victims of sex trafficking, having suffered unimaginable violence and trauma.

Our mission is to help minors recover and live fully restored lives through our holistic healing programs. Most recently, 103 youth that were being groomed by sexual predators online have been identified and connected with appropriate law enforcement and/or counseling resources through the prevention programs of AwareKC, one of our partners in fighting DMST.  Currently, there is no residential facility dedicated to domestic minor sex trafficking victims in or near Kansas City.  Restoration House aims to change that by opening a “Home for Minors”.

Dr. Rodney Hammer is the Founder of Restoration House of Greater Kansas City and the current Chairman of the Board.  Dr. Hammer is also the Executive Director of Missions for Blue River-Kansas City Baptist Association.  He served for 18 years with the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board. He spent 10 years in China and Southeast Asia, and another 8 years as the Regional Leader for Central & Eastern Europe. Dr. Hammer holds a Masters of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Hammer and his wife, Debbie have one son, Luke. They reside in Lee’s Summit, MO.