Life Unlimited Expands

Life Unlimited is Kansas City’s largest provider of adult disability services and has been a Curry Real Estate Services tenant at 236 W. Mill Street in Liberty, Missouri, for more than a dozen years.!

That 5,000-square-foot space is just one of many area properties out of which this well-regarded non-profit provides healthcare, recreation, employment assistance, life skills training, community living and other services each year to more than 1,000 individuals ages 18 and over with intellectual, developmental and other disabilities.

“It is all about dignity and choice for these individuals who want to have, like any of us, a life of unlimited possibilities,” said Emily Morgan, vice president of external relations. “Everything we do is with a view to helping these individuals achieve their goals and live independently.”

The mission of Life Unlimited includes providing services for every aspect of daily living. In a 12-county area going north and west to the borders of Iowa and Kansas, the organization has among its services:

• Housing – 70-plus houses it owns and manages, offering around-the-clock care where needed
• Day habilitation – four locations (a fifth will open later in 2025) with enrichment activities suited to each participant’s needs and interests
• Employment assistance – matching qualified candidates to 100-plus employers, with job coaching
• Healthcare – provided by full- and part-time registered nurses and health coordinators
• Applied behavioral analysis – board-certified specialists provide assessment and intervention recommendations

“People with intellectual and developmental disabilities are living much longer because we have come to understand that with the needed interventions – like surgeries for babies with Down Syndrome who have congenital heart issues – they can live long, fulfilling lives,” said Morgan. “It used to be that we would assume these individuals would live with mom and dad forever, but parents want more for them. They want their child to have a meaningful life and helping them live as independently as possible is all about that.”

Life Unlimited had its beginnings in the 70s when Bill Dunn, Sr., and wife Jean, got together with other families who had a child with developmental disabilities and wanted the same independence and dignity for each of them as any other individual. Immacolata Manor in Liberty providing residential housing was the start.

“Life Unlimited is the culmination of five different legacy organizations,” Morgan said. “We love to see how necessity is the mother of invention with our community. The Dunns and other families did a great job of meeting a housing need and then, by bringing in other like-minded organizations, day habilitation, medical and employment services were added to create Life Unlimited in 2016.” More mergers since have expanded the non-profit’s services and geographic reach.