'I have a future': KC Wellness Court helps support participants by teaching them about business

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — KSHB 41 News reporter Braden Bates covers parts of Jackson County, Missouri, including Lee's Summit. Send Braden a story idea by e-mail.

—

The Kansas City Municipal Court merged the drug and mental health courts to create the Wellness Court. Since its creation in January 2025, the court continues to innovate by creating pilot programs for those going through the court system.

The latest is giving the participants lessons on entrepreneurship and the opportunity to start their own businesses.

"I'm seeing that I have a future. I have a future outside of drugs and crime," Ronald Smith said.

At 59 years old, Smith credits the Kansas City Wellness Court with putting him on a new path.

KSHB 41

"It did in me what 45 years worth of prison did not do. It did in me what in and out of treatment could not do. Just sitting in her courtroom and watching how she, how she deals with people. It makes you wanna get up and try," Smith said.

His experience in the courts led him to believe in the cycle.

"It would have been easier for them simply to have, you know, 'He's been locked up, in and out of jail all his life — just lock him back up,'" Smith said.

He said the Wellness Court dug deeper.

"They began to dig away at all the dirt and debris, and they began to deal with the root in me," he said.

The deeper they went the more he learned about himself.

"All of my generation of men and women my age, and this is, I know everybody that did it the way it ought to be done, they coming around third base to home. I'm still on first base in life," Smith said. "I can still make it around third this late in my life because I'm being honest with myself finally."

He was the first to sign up to be a part of the class where they will learn about business. The new pilot program is being led by Johnny Waller Jr. from Clear Tomorrow KC.

KSHB 41

Waller knows firsthand what it means to rebuild from the ground up.

"I got shot in the head. I was in a gang. I've been arrested like 35 times. I ended up incarcerated," Waller said.

Waller found a passion in entrepreneurship and is now passing that passion along to others.

"I sold a bunch of drugs, right? And so, I took those skills and I transferred them, and that's how I started the jewelry store. Because it's really the same thing, I buy wholesale and sell retail," Waller said.

Owning several businesses and leading a nonprofit, Waller took the time to learn for himself. He went back to school, earned his degree in business management, followed by a masters in business management, and he is now working towards his doctorate in leadership and education and business management.

"People will slam a door in your face, but I wanna teach people how to build their own door and walk through it," Waller said.

The program grew from a need identified by the participants themselves, according to Judge Courtney Wachel.

KSHB 41

"Many participants say they wanna start their own business. They have lots of ideas," Wachel said.

Wachel has used her connections to bring inspiration and opportunity beyond the courtroom, including a pitch competition with real stakes.

"The winners of the pitch competition will receive seed money to start their business," Wachel said.

She said this is just one example of how she has watched this court support those in it.

"I feel so lucky to be a municipal court judge because I feel like this is a really good place to impact people in a way that they don't go on to commit more serious crimes," Wachel said.

But many credit her work as the reason they have been able to recommit to themselves, including Smith.

"Seeing this judge here deal with us with mercy and grace, it really does something to me," Smith said.

For Smith, the program is about channeling a lifetime of hard lessons into something new.

"You think you can, but you never really take that hustle that you got in the street and turn something positive into it with a positive business," Smith said.

All Wellness Court participants work toward graduation after rigorous requirements. Once they graduate, their cases get dismissed.

Two nonprofits, inspired by the courts, are accepting donations to help those in the justice system. Clear Tomorrow KC — the organization behind the business classes — and Beyond the Bench.

If you would like donate, click the links on the organizations' names.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

—