ReStart CEO Stephanie Boyer acknowledged that the process of planning a new Lenexa shelter “was always an uphill battle.” Still, when the Lenexa City Council rejected the proposal at a meeting late Tuesday night by a vote of 5-2, the reaction within the homeless services organization was disappointed, to put it mildly.
“Totally disheartened. Tears. I mean, for the people that we serve," Boyer told KCUR's Up To Date. "This is very personal for us, not for us, but because of the people that we serve and the people that we know are living on the street in Johnson County today.”
The rejection came in spite of overwhelming support from the members of the public who attended the meeting. Johnson County Post reporter Andrew Guag says council members were simply not convinced by hours of favorable public comments.
“They had problems with the financing for this," Gaug says. "They had problems with security, such as fencing, as well as drop offs.”
Lenexa City Council members declined an invitation to appear on Up To Date, citing concerns about future litigation.
“We have some concerns that there could potentially be some fair housing violations here," Boyer said. "We will continue to dig into those, because we wouldn't be doing our jobs as advocates for this work if we didn't.”
- Stephanie Boyer, reStart CEO
- Andrew Guag, Johnson County Post reporter
