KANSAS

PREVENTION-TO-INTERVENTION CONTINUUM AT SCALE

Kansas is home to One Heart Project's largest and most integrated service footprint. Through deep partnerships with schools, court services, and juvenile corrections, our team reaches young people at nearly every stage — from early prevention programming in elementary classrooms to intervention work inside the justice system itself.

That range is what makes Kansas unique: it's not just one program running in one setting, but a connected continuum. A student might first meet One Heart in a school hallway long before any system is involved, or a young person might be introduced to us through juvenile corrections and find mentorship that carries them well past release. Either way, the approach stays the same — consistent adults, an evidence-informed curriculum, and relationships built on trust rather than shame.

OUR WORK IN KANSAS

  • School-based programming spanning elementary, middle, and high school

  • Court services and juvenile corrections partnerships for justice-involved youth

  • Topeka-area programming, one of our most concentrated and longstanding service areas

  • Ongoing mentor recruitment, matching caring adults with young people who need consistency most

  • Expansion into additional metro school districts, extending prevention work further upstream

Kansas shows what's possible when early intervention, mentoring, and justice-system partnership work together as one ecosystem instead of separate efforts.

Stories ofImpact

SHOWING UP CHANGES EVERYTHING

Sometimes impact shows up years later — quietly, unexpectedly, and unmistakably.

A school counselor at one of our partner campuses reached out to tell us about a student named Ryan* (not his real name). Today, he's respectful, empathetic, and trusted enough to serve as a proctor in her 7th-hour class. He encourages younger students, leads by example, and is the kind of young man teachers rely on. But that wasn't always his story.

Ryan openly admits he was "a nightmare in 6th and 7th grade." He struggled, acted out, and found himself on a path that could have easily led to discipline, isolation, or worse. One day, the counselor finally asked him: "So, what changed for you?"

His answer came without hesitation: "Corey. The One Heart Project."

He shared that after hearing Kansas Youth Development Specialist Corey's story through One Heart, something clicked. He realized he wanted more for his life. He wanted to become someone better. And he decided he could. That decision didn't just shift his behavior — it reshaped his future. Today, Ryan is thriving. Teachers describe him as kind. Respectful. Empathetic. A leader. And a reminder that sometimes the seeds we plant take time, but they do grow.

THE PERSON BEHIND THE WORK

Staff Highlight: Corey Fox

Corey Fox's journey is one of resilience, accountability, and transformation — a story that mirrors the lives of many of the young people One Heart Project serves today.

Growing up without a father, Corey encountered the justice system at an early age. He struggled in school, eventually dropping out of high school, and spent time in juvenile detention and later adult jail. Surrounded by gangs, violence, substance use, and instability, Corey became angry, lost, and without direction. In many ways, he was the very youth One Heart Project now works to support.

Everything changed when Corey became a father. At 28, he welcomed his first two children just months apart — a moment that forced a defining choice: continue a generational cycle of absence and incarceration, or break it entirely. Corey chose to be present and committed himself to becoming the father he never had.

Several years later, Corey met Victor Hercules of One Heart Project at a Bible study. After hearing Corey share his story, Victor recognized both his lived experience and his potential, and invited him to volunteer with One Heart Project at a youth detention center. What began as a volunteer opportunity quickly became a calling.

Today, Corey has grown from volunteer to staff member, helping One Heart Project build and expand programs in the Topeka and Lawrence areas. He leads, mentors, and supports both youth and staff — investing daily in young people who face many of the same challenges he once did.

Corey's story is living proof that a past does not determine a future. He is no longer part of the problem. He is part of the solution, walking alongside young people toward the futures they deserve.

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