13 July 2023
TOPEKA (KSNT) – County Commissioner Kevin Cook announced a proposal intended to address several areas of need at Thursday’s meeting. He’s calling on his fellow commissioners and other community stakeholders to take action.
Cook said mental health has always been a point of emphasis for him. He thinks mental health, alcohol and drug use and homelessness are all at critical levels right now. He wants to use this year’s budget cycle to make a lasting impact on the community.
“My proposal is that we look at taking $6 million from our general reserve fund,” Cook said. “Applying that towards addressing alcohol, drug, mental health and chronic homelessness in our community.”
To Cook, those are the three big areas of need right now, and the Shawnee County Department of Corrections agrees. Deputy Director Tim Phelps said the Department of Corrections has a good understand of what elements in the community, or in people’s lives, lead to such behaviors.
The department requested funding of its own from the County today, in an effort to stop the repeated cycles that land many behind bars.
“Our goal is to help these individuals in our community stabilize so that they can redirect at getting education, getting employment, getting housing and then becoming productive citizens.,” Phelps said. “That’s the long game. And it’s a lot easier to handle that on the outside with community corrections than to keep building more jail cells.”
Phelps said the jail is in support of a plan that intends to address these problems. He believes providing community members with the right resources can keep them on track for a better life.
“We need to do something proactive in our community, like I said, think bold, do something bold,” Cook said. “Time is act now.”
Cook wants to partner with the Department of Corrections and other entities such as the City of Topeka, the District Attorney, the Municipal Court, Valeo, the Topeka Police and the Shawnee County Sheriff’s office. He said it will take a community-wide effort to do this correctly.
The County plans to talk about the proposal during 2024 budget discussion, which will continue through August.