23 August 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The City of Wichita is working on a new way to help people in crisis. The City Council approved a development agreement for a multi-agency center.
The facility is intended to be a ‘one-stop shop’ for people experiencing anything from homelessness to domestic violence and human trafficking. The goal is to have multiple agencies in one location to make the process of getting back on their feet faster.
On Tuesday, Petra Incorporated was named the official partner for the project.
“Their first task is going to be community outreach and getting those partners, bringing in those national consultants on homelessness to help us identify design strategies, things we should be taking into consideration about the location of the campus, what type of services should be on the center, what other type of connections that would need to be made,” said Sally Stang, The Director of Housing and Community Services for the City of Wichita.
This concept has been something the City has been discussing for many years. KSN has done coverage of the City discussing on the topic in the past. Consultations for the current project began in 2019 to analyze the needs around homelessness in the area.
The Mental Health and Substance Abuse Coalition says they have been advocating for connecting homeless populations with behavioral health and substance abuse services since the first beginning.
“When we first started the coalition about five, six, years ago, we did a lot of national research to figure out the best practices in other parts of the country, what have other cities done… And the Multi-Agency Center really is a cornerstone of beginning to put that plan together,” said Robyn Chadwick, Board Chair of the MHSA Coalition.
Individual organizations say it can be difficult to provide extensive care for vulnerable people.
“We have limitations in resources and the hours we can be open and the availability of immediate housing and those kind of things,” said Deann Smith, Executive Director of United Methodist Open Door. “If we can get in a big enough space and have the cooperation large enough to have that soft handoff, that will be fabulous.”
On March 28, the City Council approved the HOME-ARP plan, which will provide $5,508,372 in funding for the facility. It is still to be determined whether it will be one building or a campus-style property uniting the resources.
“People in our community who are dealing with homelessness also are dealing with a lack of transportation,” explained Chadwick. She says it is important to create an easy handoff from one organization to the next.
Petra is responsible for the allocation of funds, location of the center, and outreach to find social service partners. They want the facility to be within walking distance from downtown.
“[Petra] had good experience in helping with fund seeking, which is going to be important. We have about $5.5 allocated, but we know we’re going to need a significant amount more than that, and I just felt like they were the most well-rounded applicant in the RFP process,” said City Council District II’s Becky Tuttle.
The City Housing and Community Services Department says the current funds will only be able to help with the construction and operation of affordable housing and the development of a non-congregate (individual unit) shelter.
They are looking for other funds through ARPA, low-income tax credits, state housing tax credits, the National Housing Trust Fund and others.
“We need to come up with some short-term solutions. The MAC itself is really a longer-term solution,” explained Stang.
The next step is to begin outreach with community groups and discuss a plan with national consultants to attack the homeless crisis. The City expects to have the project moving forward by March 28, 2024.