14 October 2023
WICHITA. Kan. (KSNW) – The Sedgwick County Commission requested the support of state representatives Friday morning. Commissioners met with Wichita city leaders and Kansas state representatives after HumanKind had announced they would not be opening their men’s winter emergency shelter last week.
HumanKind has announced that they have worked out a plan to be able to have space available for 100 men and 40 women at their winter emergency shelter location by Nov. 15.
Although this is a step forward, commissioners, city council, and state representatives say that this does not solve the concern of making sure no one is left out in the cold.
City leaders labeled the lack of space in shelters this winter a crisis.
“People will die in the streets of Wichita, and that is simply not acceptable to anyone in this community,” said Sedgwick County Commissioner Ryan Baty.
State and local government leaders are searching for emergency dollars to find a solution to where to place people.
“Last winter, we lost 47/48 individuals to homelessness. We want that number to be zero this year, and we’re going to work toward that goal,” said Kansas State Representative for the 97th District, Nick Hoheisel.
The city is looking to lease a building, but they have yet to find a short-term suit.
“A lot of these buildings that are suited for it, they are not currently looking to lease out but looking to sell their buildings,” said Wichita’s Vice Mayor Mike Hoheisel.
The issue also affects families. St. Anthony’s Family Shelter is at capacity, and they cannot take anyone else.
“We are the only family shelter in Wichita, Kansas, so we’re seeing that we’re turning away anywhere from 6 to 10 families daily,” said St. Anthony Family Shelter Program Director Ann Nash.
City leaders acknowledge they need a plan quickly.
“Whatever we have to do to make sure the children are out of the elements, that they’re safe, that they’re protected and that they’re given the opportunities my children are given,” said Vice Mayor Mike Hoheisel.
There will be another roundtable discussion next week. It is scheduled for October 20th. The hope is to finalize a winter housing shelter solution.
City and county leaders are hopeful the temporary plan for this winter will help them establish a center with mental health resources that will serve the community in the long term.
The plan is for a new multi-agency campus or a MAC. County commissioners will attempt to model it after facilities they visited in Colorado Springs and San Antonio. The campus would have mental health and substance-use-treatment on-site while working with outside agencies to assist those seeking help in finding affordable housing once they leave the facility.
They hope to have the new campus up and running within the next three years and hope it will become the gold standard for that type of center.