Social Work Career Spotlight: Founder and Bridge Builder for Housing Solutions
Felicity Anderson is from San Diego, California, and graduated from the University of Kansas in 2023. After working in social welfare for 18 years, Anderson decided to come to Kansas to get her Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) at the KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park.
Anderson recently worked for Hillcrest Transitional Housing, where she did case management and created a program to support and sustain those who graduated from a 90-day transitional program.
Recently, Anderson launched her own social service company, Reach and Rise KC, which will provide contract case management.
What are you attempting to achieve with Reach and Rise KC?
The main goal of Reach and Rise KC is to bridge the gap between individuals facing housing instability and the resources they need to achieve long-term stability. … The ultimate vision is to reduce evictions, increase housing stability, and create a more sustainable support system for those navigating life’s barriers.
Give a summary of your job – what are some of your responsibilities?
I am responsible for building valuable connections with key stakeholders — including property managers, community organizations, and government agencies — to foster a network of support for tenants.
I also develop and implement metric systems to evaluate program effectiveness, ensuring measurable outcomes that reflect housing stability, financial empowerment, and community resilience.
Additionally, I am creating a comprehensive case management curriculum that equips frontline workers with tools to provide holistic, impactful support to tenants in crisis.
What made you want to be a social worker?
I've always loved people. I've always been fascinated by the fact that there are some people who just don't get the same treatment as other people.
As a kid, I thought I was Robin Hood to those who were experiencing harm. I was the one who was advocating for the children who were getting bullied. To care for people in need has always been a heart posture of mine, and it really sparked when I moved to Los Angeles, and I saw how limitless I was in my work because I was really running off of my passion.
What advice would you give to current social work students?
Community is everything. I would not have finished my degree if I did not have a good set of students that followed me from my first year until we finished the program together. We worked together, we studied together, we had the hard conversations about fatigue and burnout and our personal lives together, because you have to be able to trust the people that you're building with, especially when it comes to social work.
Two of those individuals are still two of my closest friends, and we are building together. One of them is now sitting on my advisory board for Reach and Rise KC. So more than anything, I would say, find your community and do the hard work to keep your community, because you're going to need these people sooner or later.