Kansas
Kansas weighs investing millions in shelters after years of increased homeless populations
On a single night in Kansas last year, there were about 2,636 homeless people living in the state, including about 400 in Shawnee County, according to the statewide Point in Time Count that likely undercounts the total number.
But there are less than a thousand shelter beds available statewide.
The House Committee on Welfare Reform is tasked with finding ways to address the growing homeless population in the state, which reached the highest levels it has seen since 2014 after six consecutive years of rising homeless populations.
The committee heard a bill, House Bill 2723, which would establish a $40 million grant fund that would go to communities around the state that create a plan to create more shelter beds. Grants would only go to cities that do the following:
- Provide the same amount of money they receive.
- Submit a building plan to create or improve a shelter.
- Collect data on the populations the shelter serves.
- Enforce laws criminalizing vagrancy and public camping.
- Prioritize Kansas residents who’ve lived in the state for more than eight months.
- Provide “wraparound” housing service.
Those wraparound services aren’t defined in the bill, which several legislators and advocates raised concern about. But legislators got a better sense of what those services include at a March 14 briefing from homeless service providers and cities seeking to expand their services.
Shelters, services and statutes
Of the 2,636 homeless people identified in the latest Point in Time Count, 943 resided in rural areas. Several legislators on the reform committee raised concerns about equitably distributing funds to address both categories of homelessness. McPherson Housing Coalition runs a non-congregate shelter in the 14,000-population town, hosting up to 10 families in separated tiny homes.
To get the shelter up and running cost around $1 million, said MHC’s executive director Chris Goodson. The most important part, though, is the social services included to help get families back on their feet.
“You can build affordable housing, but if you don’t offer social services of some sort to help families work through those roadblocks, it’s not going to work,” Goodson said.
City officials from Wichita presented their idea of addressing homelessness in a much larger City. Their proposal is to refurbish Riverside Hospital into a complex that includes a congregate shelter, where people share rooms for an overnight stay, as well as solo non-congregate rooms, low-income housing, space for homeless services, dining rooms and classrooms.
“The more that we can bring under one roof,” said Troy Anderson, Wichita’s assistant city manager. “There are efficiencies of scale, there are efficiencies in trying to achieve that functional net zero because there’s not a lack or a confusion of trying to connect one resource to another.”
The “functional net zero” of homelessness is effectively getting more people out of homelessness than are becoming homeless. Anderson said if they can consistently graduate people toward housing stability, it’d eventually mean that the homeless population is almost entirely temporarily displaced people, rather than chronic homelessness, which accounts for about 25% of Kansas’s homeless population.
Wichita has the largest homeless population in the state, and its proposal may have the highest price tag. The city said it would likely be asking for $20 million, half of the total grant money available in HB 2723, to construct the complex.
Advocates from all over the state spoke to the committee, from Liberal to Wyandotte County. Though smaller communities will need less money for their projects than larger communities, their less resourced local governments may have additional barriers to proposing than more heavily staffed urban areas.
Committee-members considered earmarking a certain amount for more sparsely populated areas or allowing cities to bolster their applications with donations from nonprofits.
Is the bill enough to address homelessness in Kansas?
Some homeless service providers had quibbles with the bill, including the provisions on enforcing vagrancy laws, that the data collection doesn’t feed into other reports, that nonprofits should be able to apply for funds and including a severability clause that would ensure the program continues if parts of the legislation are struck down in court.
One conferee, though, sharply differed from the others in their rejection rejection of “housing-first” policies that offer transitional housing, pointing to increases in homeless populations in areas that adopted a housing-first approach.
“Obviously homelessness and there’s many factors, but we believe housing first is making the problem worse, it focuses dollars away from shelter and toward permanent supportive housing,” said Andrew Wiems, of Cicero Action, a group that last year advocated for legislation that would criminalize public homelessness.
House Bill 2723 had its hearing on March 5 and isn’t scheduled for debate on the House floor, but if passed could significantly impact the scope of homeless services in the state.
“From the conversations I’ve had with prospective bidders, communities that are considering applying for the funds, I feel like the $40 million, with the one-for-one match which would be $80 million, I think would be sufficient to address the chronically homeless population that we’re looking to target with our funds,” said Andrew Brown, deputy secretary for programs of the Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services.
A Kansas City man has been charged with the murder of a teen following a shooting in Klamm Park last weekend.
LaRon Jaka Belcher III, 21, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Branden Jamal Baskin, 18. Baskin lived in Kansas City, Kansas, according to the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office.
Wyandotte County Sheriff’s deputies responded to Klamm Park at 2515 N 27th St in Kansas City, Kansas, around 6:30 p.m. on July 21, The Star previously reported. Deputies found Baskin dead at the park, which is located behind KCK Fire Department Station 14.
Two other suspects, an adult and a juvenile, were arrested after the shooting, The Star reported. Belcher alone was charged with murder.
Court documents indicate that the shooting took place while Belcher was trying to sell or distribute some form of controlled substance.
Belcher was booked into the Wyandotte County Jail earlier this week, according to jail records. A Wyandotte County set his bond at $200,000 at a hearing Friday morning.
Belcher is set to next appear in court on August 6.
Baskin’s death was the 16th homicide reported in Kansas City, Kansas, in 2024, according to data collected by The Star. At the same time last year, 14 homicides had been reported in the city.
CINCINNATI — First, Ja’Marr Chase refused to say his name. Now, he’s getting trolled by the Raiders.
Las Vegas trolled Patrick Mahomes with a Kermit doll. Mahomes responded on Friday.
“Stuff like that happens,” Mahomes said. “It’ll get handled when it gets handled.”
Mahomes is 10-2 in his career against the Raiders. Trash talking him is a bold choice.
The Bengals play the Chiefs in Week 2. It’s reasonable to call it the best rivalry in the NFL. It would be shocking to see Cincinnati troll Kansas City that way and they’ve had head-to-head success against them.
A bold choice by Las Vegas. Check out the troll video and Mahomes’ response below:
Patrick Mahomes responds:
“It’ll get handled when it gets handled.” 👀pic.twitter.com/OpyfiZqjEn https://t.co/6slSBkdu5O
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) July 26, 2024
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Two recently opened Kansas City attractions were announced today among 100 extraordinary destinations to visit; named to TIME’s list of the World’s Greatest Places.
TIME’s annual feature includes CPKC Stadium, home to the KC Current and the first stadium in the world purpose-built for a women’s professional team, and The Rabbit hOle, a North Kansas City children’s literary museum that debuted this spring after years of anticipation.
To compile the list, TIME solicited nominations of places — including hotels, cruises, restaurants, attractions, museums, parks, and more — from its international network of correspondents and contributors, as well as via an application process, with an eye toward those offering new and exciting experiences.
The Kansas City selections reflected those timely elements, editors said.
“Like Alice in Wonderland, visitors go down the rabbit hole (quite literally into a “hole” of winding tunnels and caves), tumbling into classic and contemporary storybooks and meeting life-size characters,” TIME wrote in its description of the newly opened Rabbit hOle.
Spanning three floors, visitors can catch a ride with Nana and CJ on the bus to “The Last Stop on Market Street”; whisper “Goodnight Moon” in the quiet dark of the great green room; outshine Mr. Sun with “Sam and the Tigers”; feed jum-jills to “The Funny Thing”; or find themselves scaling the cliffs of “My Father’s Dragon” when visiting the magical museum.
“The Rabbit hOle is a living thing, and it becomes something new for every visitor who enters it,” said Deb Pettid, co-director at The Rabbit hOle. “It’s impossible to define, but that’s what makes it a true place of discovery. And where else can you read a book inside a book?”
Julie Denesha
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KCUR 89.3
“Since opening this March, we’ve had more than 60,000 visitors from nearly every state and all over the world,” added Pete Cowdin, co-director. “The Rabbit hOle is unlike anything, anywhere.”
The Rabbit hOle also features a bookstore, print shop and story lab, makerspace, resource library, gallery for original book art and a cafe, making it an ideal space for innovative programming and private events.
CPKC Stadium also deserves its spot on the list, said Raven Jemison, president of the KC Current.
“Ownership’s vision has changed women’s professional sports for generations to come,” Jemison said. “CPKC Stadium is proof that an investment in women is a smart one as we continue to sell out KC Current matches. Fans from all over the globe have made the trip to Kansas City to witness history. Now the world knows what the excitement is about; we’re just getting started.”
CPKC Stadium has been on a worldwide stage since formally opening in March.
On July 3, CPKC Stadium was announced as the venue for the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League Championship, which is set for Nov. 23. The stadium is also the host venue for the 2024 NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup semifinals Aug. 6 and was selected as the site for the 2024 Big 12 Soccer Championship.
The stadium has also hosted a variety of national conferences, like the United States Conference of Mayors, as well as private and local events like the city’s AANHPI Heritage Festival.
This story was originally published on Startland News, a fellow member of the KC Media Collective.
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