Staff, board members, partners, and supporters filled the nonprofit’s new space on Sept. 29, opening a new chapter for the Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault (MOCSA), which has more than 50 years of service behind it.
MOCSA serves survivors of sexual assault and abuse across the Kansas City region. Its mission shaped every part of the project, which was built on trauma-responsive design. In practice, that means paying attention to the small things a person feels before they can name them to create a place that feels calm, safe, and dignified from the first step inside.
The building started life as a data center. Turning it into MOCSA’s new home began with the vision of President and CEO Julie Donelon, along with MOCSA’s leadership, staff, and board of directors. Generator Studio served as architect, interior designer, and environmental graphics designer.
“Survivors were the heart of every decision,” MOCSA Chair J. Zachary Bickel said at the ribbon-cutting. “It is a place of safety, dignity, healing, a place where people can find support and compassion during some of the most trying moments of their lives.”
The early numbers are a telling example of what can happen when you design for good: “We’re seeing growth in our in-person group attendance that has increased by 35%, and our therapy session attendance that has increased by 15% just since moving in this summer,” Donelon said.
A big thank you to the MOCSA leadership and staff for trusting us with something this important, and to project partners JE Dunn, MIKA Project Partners, and Encompas who helped bring it home.