One of our core project types at Generator is non-profit workspaces. We recently had the opportunity to help Kansas City’s Child Protection Center (CPC) locate new office space, fit out the building, and design the interiors for its unique services – serving children experiencing child abuse & violence, and their caregivers.
Kids come to CPC upon referral from law enforcement, Child Protective Services (CPS), or Children’s Mercy Hospital. Rather than recounting their story numerous times to police, social workers, investigators, prosecutors, and in court (often scary, sterile places), kids tell their story once to CPC’s highly trained forensic interviewers in an environment purposely designed to feel safe and friendly to kids. The caseworker team sits in a separate room with closed-circuit cameras, invisible to the child, and the taped interviews can then aid in prosecution without the child retelling and reliving their traumatic experience.
For caregivers, CPC provides crisis intervention, education on the legal process, referrals for medical and mental health, and social services for both child and family at no cost.
The new location is along the streetcar route in Midtown, with two levels separating client-serving spaces from employee functions & office space. Therapy rooms, interview rooms, and family advocacy spaces are housed on the first level, designed with special acoustics to maintain the integrity and privacy of all the clients CPC serves.
The 2nd level houses employees’ private offices & workstations, conference rooms, gathering areas, and an outdoor patio. Flexible seating and break spaces support everything from office celebrations to alternate spaces for tackling the day’s work or providing a much-needed respite.
The design is characterized by warm wood and cool, calming blue tones, fostering a sense of comfort and confidence within the space.
The work that CPC does in preventing, identifying, and treating child abuse is so vital to our community. We hope this space lends feelings of safety, trust, and caring to anyone in need of their services and importantly, to all employees of CPC who do this seemingly impossible work helping traumatized kids day in and day out.
While all the projects we do are rewarding, it’s hard to top work that so directly helps others in need.
You can learn more about the CPC and support their work here.