Northeast Wichita community reacts to temporary winter shelter opening in their neighborhood
7 November 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Concern is growing over the emergency winter shelter coming to northeast Wichita. The Wichita African American Council of Elders hosted a conference Monday to discuss frustrations.
“The people have voices and feelings and concerns. We are not pleased with the way they [the city] are doing things in this process and this issue,” explained Reverend Titus James, Presiding Elder of the Wichita African American Council of Elders.
The shelter would be located at 21st and Grove. The city is set to vote on $685,000 of funding to run the location at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. The shelter would be open 24/7 with busing provided and could sleep 250 people. It does not have a set opening date but would remain open until March 2024.
James explains the location is not appropriate because it’s “Close proximity of children, close proximity of an elementary school, and you also have a food desert and you also own a potentially contaminated water source for the city right there.”
The Boys and Girls Club, a local elementary school, and a daycare are three reasons people say the facility should not be in that community.
“How are you keeping the safety of the community and the people coming into these spaces?” Community impact leader Sarah Myers asked. “24/7 nonstop routes of Ubers, buses bringing all of these people with their mental instabilities and just despair into the community. What does that do for the vibe?”
Others believe there is not enough security to keep people safe.
“We have a shortage of police officers. The HOT team will also be involved, but if they are downtown, the question is how fast will they be able to get there? I just think there are so many unanswered questions,” explained Lavonta Williams, vice Presiding Elder of the Wichita African American Council of Elders.
People said other locations downtown would have been a better spot for the shelter. They would also be closer to other resources unhoused people would need. City Council Member Brandon Johnson says they had no other options.
“A lot of people think you can just put people in an empty building. There is so much infrastructure needed for an emergency shelter, and this place had the least amount of work necessary to make it that,” said Johnson.
People say the local businesses and residents should have had better notice about the situation instead of finding out after the location was announced.
“It’s just a matter of respect. Community respect. And I don’t feel the community was given that respect,” explained Williams.
Johnson says the city was originally planning to use a facility in downtown Wichita, but the plan fell through.
“We wanted to come out and talk through this is the opportunity that we are looking at. We started that engagement. We fully intended to be fully engaged with the community going forward. It just came to be last minute because one of the opportunities we had fell apart last minute,” he explained.
Northeast Millair Neighborhood Association President Aujanae Bennett says there are many other issues needing support in the neighborhood before the city prioritizes a shelter.
“The 30 years of contamination they didn’t tell us about, all the sickness because of that. We already have the truck stop that we’re dealing with. If you had any compassion for our community, you would have said, ‘You know what, northeast Wichita has enough going on,” said Bennett.
“I fully understand, you know, that neighborhood has been through quite a bit, still going through a lot. But at the end of the day, our unhoused population, they’re still people, and we have to do what we can to help them out,” said Johnson.
At Monday’s conference, the African American Council of Elders decided to look at hiring a lawyer. The goal is for the lawyer to put a temporary restraining order on the project.
They will also have people at Tuesday’s City Council meeting to oppose the shelter.