Construction of the Opportunity Campus moved forward this summer and the Voluntary Action Center (VAC) reported progress and remaining fundraising needs to the City Council on Aug. 4, 2025.

Ed Stansbury of the Voluntary Action Center told council the campus will include a Client Services Building that houses an overnight shelter with a stated capacity of 125, a day‑services area (Turning Point), dining/kitchen facilities, laundry, mail services and kennels; a neighboring Cindy Mustard Resource Center will provide VAC offices, a medical clinic, offices for partner organizations and a courtyard. Renderings and site photos shown to council indicate steel erection, metal decking and exterior sheathing in place on the Client Services Building and rough‑ins for HVAC, plumbing and electrical in the resource center.

Nut graf: The campus is intended to consolidate overnight shelter, day‑services, meals and partner providers on a single six‑acre site to improve case management and continuity of services, but fundraising still has work to do — VAC reported approximately $15.1 million raised toward an $18.4–18.6 million project and identified roughly $3.1 million in unmet needs, including ARPA, state and county allocations with some city ARPA funds remaining to spend.

Stansbury listed partner agencies expected to provide services or space on the campus, including Room at the Inn (overnight shelter services), Turning Point (day‑services), Loaves & Fishes (meals), Burrow Mental Health, Central Missouri Community Action, Clarity Healthcare (primary care in the clinic), JobPoint and veteran services organizations. He described program details: isolation rooms for infectious‑symptom screening, commercial laundry, secure storage and mail services, a computer lab, case management offices and leasable tenant space for rotating community partners. He said the shelter will operate 24/7 and emphasized case management and partner coordination as keys to success.

On funding, Stansbury said the total project cost figure shown in some materials varied between $18.4 million and $18.6 million; VAC has raised about $15.1 million (about 81%) and that a capital campaign is working to close a roughly $3.0–3.1 million gap. He also reported allocations from local and state sources and noted that of the $3.1 million the city budgeted from ARPA for the project, VAC had about $921,000 remaining to spend and expected those city ARPA dollars to be expended within 60–90 days at current rates of construction and spending.

Councilmembers asked clarifying questions about the funding picture and operational readiness; Stansbury said site work, steel erection and interior framing are moving quickly while some trades (notably roofers) have faced weather and heat delays. He said VAC intends to lease tenant space to community partners on scheduled rotations and that staff will operate the campus and provide mail services and case management previously offered in decentralized locations.

Ending: The campus consolidates shelter and services on an integrated campus to improve access to care and case management; construction is well underway and VAC is close to fully funding the project but continues an active capital campaign to close a multi‑million dollar gap while city ARPA funds are being expended.